01505nas a2200157   4500000000100000008004100001653001100042653001100053653001200064653001000076100001400086700001400100245005900114856006900173520110500242       2014                            d10aStigma10aNurses10aleprosy10aGhana1 aBergman L1 aBritton A00aNurse's experiences of leprosy related stigma in Ghana  uhttp://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:726710/FULLTEXT01.pdf3 aBackground: Leprosy has long been associated with stigma and the disease causes a lot ofsuffering to those affected, not only physically but also emotionally and psychologically due to the effects of stigma.

Aim: To describe the nurse’s experiences of leprosy related stigma in the Central Region of Ghana.

Methods: A qualitative interview study with semi-structured interviews. Seven individual interviews were conducted four with nurses working at a hospital, specializing in leprosy care, at in the Central Region of Ghana. The data was analyzed using a content analysis based on Graneheim and Lundmans concept.

Results: The nurses described an exclusion affecting leprosy patients because of their disease. Significant factors, such as lack of knowledge and social circumstances, could be linked to leprosy related stigma.

Discussions: The result was discussed using Watson's theory of human, referring to eight of her ten carative factors. Three main subjects were identified and discussed related to the result. These were educational factors, social factors and stigmatization.