This study aims to clarify the structure of practices and tasks of death watch care in the A National Sanatorium for Sufferers of Hansen’s Disease (shown as A Sanatorium). A semi-structured interview was conducted of four nurses with experience of death watch care. Then, it was analyzed using the qualitative unification methods (KJ methods) individually and comprehensively. According to the results of the comprehensive analysis, nurses tended to feel strongly toward “a necessity of death watch care with a focus on family” through their communication with residents with poor relationships with their families. With this feeling in mind, they were placed everyday in “death watch care, focusing on supporting resident’s lives through daily care” while trying to be conscious of life-support for them. In practice every day, they seemed to be satisfied and encouraged by “tasks of death care are to focus on the resident’s value of life.” However, nurses with little experience of death watch care were full of anxiety and dilemmas emerged when they began death watch care. During this process, it was verified that there was “a gap in consciousness among nurses administering death watch care” and “an uncertainness of policies of institutions that accepted the death watch of residents.” In this way, an method for future death watch care in A Sanatorium was shown.

  One of the leprosy treatment centers (hospital X) in Vietnam offers loan programs to start work as part of the socio-economic rehabilitation program for ex-leprosy patients. The aim of this study is to examine and evaluate the contents of the program from the ex-leprosy patients’ perspective. The interview group was sub-divided into three groups: male/female and the younger group. A focus group interview method was used to collect qualitative data. The participant program group revealed that their income increased and their health condition improved; moreover, they evaluated the program highly as they can borrow business loan at no interest. Meanwhile, the participants were challenged with a few problems: the frequency in the illness of the livestock and the forcible discounting in the livestock’s price by the customers who use the excuse that the livestock has been raised by ex-leprosy patients. The younger group had concerns regarding the program; they were worried about the repayment of the business loan. Both groups noted points to improve the current program especially in terms of changing the loan repayment schedule and loan volume. Therefore, the program has to be adapted to the needs of ex-leprosy patients.

  Translated with permission of the publisher from Weekly epidemiological record, Global leprosy update, 2015: time for action, accountability and inclusion, WHO, No. 35, 2016, 91, 405-420. (http://www.who.int/wer/2016/wer9135/en/)