This paper discusses the professionalization of nurses in Argentina during Peron's administration (1946-1955). We will focus on two nursing schools during such period: Escuela de Engermas de la Secretaría de Salud Públic...This paper discusses the professionalization of nurses in Argentina during Peron's administration (1946-1955). We will focus on two nursing schools during such period: Escuela de Engermas de la Secretaría de Salud Pública (1947) and Escuela de Enfermeras "7 de mayo" member of Fundación Eva Perón (1950). We will analyze the institutional disputes over budgetary positions in the context of greater government intervention in public health issues.
This paper reviews the meaning of the Rural Health Bureau (1910-1918) for the history of Spanish public health, thanks to a wealth of previously unknown sources found through a systematic search through medical journals...This paper reviews the meaning of the Rural Health Bureau (1910-1918) for the history of Spanish public health, thanks to a wealth of previously unknown sources found through a systematic search through medical journals of the time and the Bulletin of the national department of Agriculture. The Bureau was dependent of the Ministry of Development, in the same way as the competences on animal health. It aimed to provide a public health rationale for a plan of agrarian infrastructures, a goal resolved into a huge task of surveillance on hookworm disease, malaria, water supplies, and diet. Thus it becomes a perfect paradigm of the Spanish Liberal tradition of promoting information instead than actual changes into society, as well as a needed complement to the hydraulic policy sponsored by Rafael Gasset.
The Spanish diary can surprisingly not be found in his bounded diaries from his American travels, but in a separate folder of his legacy in Berlin, where Humboldt collected material which he wanted to use for his publica...The Spanish diary can surprisingly not be found in his bounded diaries from his American travels, but in a separate folder of his legacy in Berlin, where Humboldt collected material which he wanted to use for his publication about Spain. So it remained undiscovered until recently. Humboldt's notes contain geognostic descriptions as well as his observations about climate, vegetation, electricity of the atmosphere, etc. The comparison with Humboldt's publication of 1825 facilitates to gain insight into his scientific methods.
In 1981, Spain was threatened by the sudden appearance of an epidemic-like disease, one which was unknown to that date. The Toxic Oil Syndrome, as it was later named after the oil that caused it, thus demanded a response...In 1981, Spain was threatened by the sudden appearance of an epidemic-like disease, one which was unknown to that date. The Toxic Oil Syndrome, as it was later named after the oil that caused it, thus demanded a response that became conditioned by the fact that the biological nature of the disease was unknown, but also, significantly by the complex situation in the country at that time. Spain was immersed in process of great political change, as well as a difficult economic situation, the authorities were obliged to react in not ideal conditions and in accordance with the very values that the new model of social relations that was being developed. This paper aims to look at the way in which the Toxic Oil Syndrome acted as a catalyst and accelerated the healthcare reform that, already prior to the outbreak of the epidemic, had been deemed necessary. This work focuses mainly on the response of the health system regarding those affected by the epidemic, as it was forced to treat a group of people with severe physical side effects which would lead to disability within a new framework of social relations. It thus aims to illustrate how many of the measures adopted were in accordance with the main ideas behind the reform, and also how these measures were precursors of those which were later applied to the population as a whole.
Within the context of the endemic trachoma that affected different regions of Spain until the 1960s, this paper analyses the epidemiological determinants of child trachoma and its treatment, based on a preventive care mo...Within the context of the endemic trachoma that affected different regions of Spain until the 1960s, this paper analyses the epidemiological determinants of child trachoma and its treatment, based on a preventive care model which incorporated the concept of community health that took shape during the interwar period. Early detection of cases, together with preventive measures, education, therapy and inspections, such as those carried out by visiting nurses, all helped to control the disease. Our results reaffirm the validity of the horizontal intervention strategies used for improving the sanitary conditions and environmental factors responsible for this prevalence of trachoma.
All along the nineteenth century different anthropological exhibitions were held in many countries, in which people from a number of indigenous communities, especially transported from their homeland for the occasion, we...All along the nineteenth century different anthropological exhibitions were held in many countries, in which people from a number of indigenous communities, especially transported from their homeland for the occasion, were exhibited publicly, both for citizenship's instruction and for specialists's "in vivo" studies on human biology. This paper presents a brief description of some of these scientific shows, and tries to relate them to contemporary human biology theories.
The present article analyzes the problematic of hygiene in the Luso-Brazilian medicine during the second half of 18th century. The chosen context to analysis is related to the changes of medical thought in Portugal along...The present article analyzes the problematic of hygiene in the Luso-Brazilian medicine during the second half of 18th century. The chosen context to analysis is related to the changes of medical thought in Portugal along the period related to the appropriation of medical theories that circulated around the Enlightenment Europe. Besides, this paper approaches the ideas presented in medicine treatises of that time related to body care and health conservation, calling attention to the central role of hygiene along that period.
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of the contribution of the Spanish forensic medical discourse in the 19th century, and its application in cases of sexual harassment, to legitimize the sexual moral...The purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of the contribution of the Spanish forensic medical discourse in the 19th century, and its application in cases of sexual harassment, to legitimize the sexual moral value of the time. For that reason we will analyse the main forensic medicine treaties edited in Spain during this century.
The article read over the intellectual connection between two physiologists, the Catalan exiled Augusto Pi Suñer in 1939 and the Venezuelan Francisco De Venanzi beyond their common research subject like as: the academic...The article read over the intellectual connection between two physiologists, the Catalan exiled Augusto Pi Suñer in 1939 and the Venezuelan Francisco De Venanzi beyond their common research subject like as: the academic insertion of the biological sciences and the related debate with the natural sciences; the scientific development and the necessity to attract the human resources for it; the publication of the project results by owner institutional reviews; the legal establishment at the highest govern level to development the scientific research. All of these subjects were developed when the scientific community in Venezuela are confirming her institutional organization.
This article aims to analyze a European view of the 17th century Spanish culture. Naudé's "Advis pour dresser une bibliothèque" (1627) - translated twice into English: "Instructions concerning erecting of a library" (166...This article aims to analyze a European view of the 17th century Spanish culture. Naudé's "Advis pour dresser une bibliothèque" (1627) - translated twice into English: "Instructions concerning erecting of a library" (1661) and "Advice on establishing a library" (1950) - represents a wide set of bibliographic recommendations that constitute, among many other things, an excellent observatory of the Spanish culture in such a delicate time.
The Faculty of Pharmacy of Santiago de Compostela was founded in 1857, but research activities did not start until the beginning of the 20th century. The new Spanish regulations promoting the experimentation at universit...The Faculty of Pharmacy of Santiago de Compostela was founded in 1857, but research activities did not start until the beginning of the 20th century. The new Spanish regulations promoting the experimentation at universities and the stages of professors and recently graduated students outside Spain contributed to generate a remarkable research group in a provincial university. The excessive university centralism at that time in Spain and the characteristics of the headquarters of the faculty -- a 16th century Renaissance palace -- hindered, in general, the research development. However, the scientific spirit of professors and students, and their work were imposed and they achieved an estimable status in pharmacy research in Galicia. The facilities were the staff's highest priority and it raised more than a protest. A remarkable investment in apparatuses and laboratory materials was carried out and researchers started to publish original research papers in local journals, such as the "Revista de farmacia," published by their own University. In the previous years to the Spanish Civil War (1936) the research status in drug development and the background of the staff and students were important, allowing them to join the military laboratory that Franco's army created at the faculty of pharmacy. The research work continued in a small scale and was specially focused on the production of "copy drugs" coping European specific drugs which were scarce at that time. The first third of the 20th century was the germ of the great research prestige that the Faculty of Pharmacy of Santiago de Compostela enjoys at present.
The journal Broteria has covered a long path, since its foundation in 1902 until the mid 20's, when it stands as one of the best journals of natural history and a voice of the renewal of the natural sciences in Portugal....The journal Broteria has covered a long path, since its foundation in 1902 until the mid 20's, when it stands as one of the best journals of natural history and a voice of the renewal of the natural sciences in Portugal. Broteria's success was due, mainly, to the remarkable qualities of its founders and main editors: their working capacity, intellectual standards and perseverance as well as the ability to establish a network of naturalists who sent them biological collections from remote regions and the ability to adapt to exile, while continuing to work and focusing their studies on the natural history of the exile country. The maintenance, in regular functioning, of their schools, and the opening to the collaboration of non Jesuit naturalists, such as the botanists from Oporto, also contributed to the success of Broteria.
The present article analyzes the historical-identitary construction in the older and most important institution of Homeopathy in Argentina. Two analytical axes are constructed: on the one hand, the construction of a foun...The present article analyzes the historical-identitary construction in the older and most important institution of Homeopathy in Argentina. Two analytical axes are constructed: on the one hand, the construction of a foundational myth that outlines a genealogical thread between the "divinities" of the medicine, and on the other hand, the mitification of Hahnemann, founding father of the discipline. Using both axes we explain how the discourses of the journal were creating a symbolic support for the weak conjuncture in which they tried to be consolidated legally as an institution.
This article presents the development of the journals "Revista Médica de Hamburgo" and "Revista Médica Germano-Ibero-Americana," which were created to promote and disseminate the German science among the medical communit...This article presents the development of the journals "Revista Médica de Hamburgo" and "Revista Médica Germano-Ibero-Americana," which were created to promote and disseminate the German science among the medical community in Latin America and Spain between the two World Wars. Shaken by the loss of Germany's colonies in Africa, the difficulties faced due to post-war economy, and the restrictions imposed by the armistice, the Germans sought to restore their cultural and scientific prestige through such initiative.
This article examines ideas of morality and health, and connections between moral transgression and disease in both Scottish missionary and Central African thought in the context of the Livingstonia Mission of the Presby...This article examines ideas of morality and health, and connections between moral transgression and disease in both Scottish missionary and Central African thought in the context of the Livingstonia Mission of the Presbyterian Free Church of Scotland in Malawi during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By concentrating on debates, conflicts and co-operation between missionaries and Africans over the key issues of beer drinking and sexual morality, this article explores the emergence of a new "moral hygiene" among African Christian communities in Northern Malawi.
This article seeks to understand how people in the early modern age interpreted the nature of illness and the role that morality played in these interpretations. From this point of view illnesses were not only psycho-phy...This article seeks to understand how people in the early modern age interpreted the nature of illness and the role that morality played in these interpretations. From this point of view illnesses were not only psycho-physical states or subjects for medical diagnosis but they were also subjects for narratives or stories through which people tried to understand what had caused their illness, and why it was happening to them. Illnesses were understood as strictly connected with the patient's character and were regarded as possible consequences of his personality. On the other hand, the interpretations also emphasised the ambivalence of a healer. Personal experiences and an understanding of one's life situation intertwined in these stories.
This paper seeks evidence among our extensive Scandinavian mythological texts for an area which they seldom discuss explicitly: the conceptualisation and handling of illness and healing. Its core evidence is two runic te...This paper seeks evidence among our extensive Scandinavian mythological texts for an area which they seldom discuss explicitly: the conceptualisation and handling of illness and healing. Its core evidence is two runic texts (the Canterbury Rune-Charm and the Sigtuna Amulet) which conceptualise illness as a "purs" ("ogre, monster"). The article discusses the semantics of "purs," arguing that illness and supernatural beings could be conceptualised as identical in medieval Scandinavia. This provides a basis for arguing that myths in which gods and heroes fight monsters provided a paradigm for the struggle with illness.
This essay explores the significance that rehabilitation physicians and polio patients in the United States put on recovering the ability to walk. Polio often paralyzed or severely weakened the legs of those who contract...This essay explores the significance that rehabilitation physicians and polio patients in the United States put on recovering the ability to walk. Polio often paralyzed or severely weakened the legs of those who contracted the disease. Regaining the ability to walk was thus a significant measure of recovery from the disease. However, walking meant more than the physical act itself. Regaining the ability to walk meant, in a symbolic sense, that one was no longer disabled, that one had again become normal. This attitude was shared by rehabilitation specialists and patients alike. This essay examines this attitude and the cultural values it embodied through a study of the efforts of selected polio survivors to learn to walk again and of the rehabilitation literature that held walking as an ideal. It also explores what happened when polio patients were unable to walk again because of the severity of their paralysis.
During the 1920s and 1930s, disabled polio survivors initiated a campaign which made them active, dissenting subjects in public discourse about disease and disability. Its source was a core of Warm Springs patients who w...During the 1920s and 1930s, disabled polio survivors initiated a campaign which made them active, dissenting subjects in public discourse about disease and disability. Its source was a core of Warm Springs patients who wanted more than a healing refuge. They were well aware of the need to construct a new image of the disabled, and saw the resort's high public profile as a potent weapon in a cultural war to remake popular images of the disabled, whether as pathetic charitable objects or as horrific movie villains. Drawing on their own, disheartening experiences, this group of activists boldly critiqued the medical care offered most disabled patients as well as the training and attitudes of doctors, nurses and physical therapists. Protesting the narrow, medicalized definition of rehabilitation, they provocatively posed the need to "rehabilitate" prejudiced, able-bodied employers and health professionals. And most of all, they consciously designed the polio center at Warm Springs to function not as an inward-looking refuge but as an exemplar of the way polio survivors and other disabled people should be allowed to live, work and love. This story begins and ends in the 1930s. It traces a rise and fall: the rise of an activist community at the rehabilitative center at Warm Springs; and its decline with the creation of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (known popularly as the March of Dimes) in 1937.
At the beginning of the 1930s, various factors made it necessary to transform one of the institutions which was renowned for its work regarding the social reinsertion of the disabled, that is, the Instituto de Reeducació...At the beginning of the 1930s, various factors made it necessary to transform one of the institutions which was renowned for its work regarding the social reinsertion of the disabled, that is, the Instituto de Reeducación Profesional de Inválidos del Trabajo (Institute for Occupational Retraining of Invalids of Work). The economic crisis of 1929 and the legislative reform aimed at regulating occupational accidents highlighted the failings of this institution to fulfill its objectives. After a time of uncertainty, the centre was renamed the Instituto Nacional de Reeducación de Inválidos (National Institute for Retraining of Invalids). This was done to take advantage of its work in championing the recovery of all people with disabilities.This work aims to study the role played in this process by the poliomyelitis epidemics in Spain at this time. It aims to highlight how this disease justified the need to continue the work of a group of professionals and how it helped to reorient the previous programme to re-educate the "invalids." Thus we shall see the way in which, from 1930 to 1950, a specific medical technology helped to consolidate an "individual model" of disability and how a certain cultural stereotype of those affected developed as a result. Lastly, this work discusses the way in which all this took place in the midst of a process of professional development of orthopaedic surgeons.