Disease experiences of female patients with Hansen’s disease residing in settlement in Korea

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify female Hansen’s disease experience in settlement village in Korea. METHOD: For this study, 11 participants in settlement village were purposively chosen. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews from July to December 2015. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed following Colaizzi’s phenomenological analysis to uncover the meaning of the experiences of the participants. RESULTS: The study results showed that female Hansen’s disease experience in settlement village consisted of 9 theme and 4 theme clusters: 1) Inescapable shackles; 2) Suffered as if being in prison,; 3) In no position to be a woman or a mother; 4) Another hometown. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study recommends that health care professionals should pay attention not only to leprosy patients to reduce their physical and psychological suffering but also to the community and public culture to promote integration of Hansenin in the community, continued promotion and reform are needed to overcome the stigma. The results of the present study can help us in a better understanding of various aspects of female patients with Hansen’s disease residing in settlement.