Langtree, Tanya (2021) "Fear causes many diseases": a review of infection prevention and control measures in pre-Nightingale nursing. In: [Presented at the Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine Conference]. From: ANZSHM 2021: Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine Conference, 1-4 December 2021, Virtual.

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Abstract

Infection prevention and control measures such as hand hygiene and environmental cleaning are used in health care to reduce the risk of transmitting infectious agents. The origin of many of these measures are credited to Florence Nightingale’s accomplishments in reducing the morbidity and mortality rates of British soldiers during the Crimean War and are found in her seminal book, Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not (1859). In Notes on Nursing, Nightingale highlighted the inextricable link between health and the sickroom environment and described basic infection prevention and control principles that should be adopted by the caregiver. While Notes on Nursing was never written for vocational nursing, these guiding principles later formed the basis of the Nightingale model for nursing training and are collectively referred to as nursing’s first theory on environmental health. Despite the continual reverence for Nightingale’s contribution to infection prevention and control, little is known about the genesis of her ideas presented in Notes on Nursing nor their influences. This presentation aims to address this gap by exploring the evolution of infection prevention and control measures in pre-Nightingale nursing. Digitised primary sources describing nursing practice between the sixteenth and midnineteenth centuries will be used to investigate the theoretical basis of early modern infection control principles used by nurses. These findings will then be used to critically examine the legitimacy of Nightingale’s unique contribution to the profession.

Item ID:	71010
Item Type:	Conference Item (Abstract / Summary)
Keywords:	History of nursing, Florence Nightingale
Date Deposited:	19 Jan 2022 23:24
FoR Codes:	42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4205 Nursing > 420599 Nursing not elsewhere classified @ 100%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2003 Provision of health and support services > 200307 Nursing @ 100%
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