Nurses in Japan are heading into their communities to meet elderly people and others with health concerns at cafes and other familiar neighborhood locations to promote healthy lifestyles and provide health education and patient care.
Known as community nurses, one of their tasks is to look out for any signs of ill health in those they meet. Hospitals and local governments, meanwhile, are dispatching them to care for older people at a time when the coronavirus pandemic sometimes makes it hard for family members to keep tabs on their elderly loved ones.
Once or twice a month, Yumiko Tsuji, 53, opens her community "health care office" at a cafe in Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, checking people's blood pressure, measuring body fat and giving health care advice while engaging people in conversation.