7 The cholera epidemic of 1892 and its impact on modernising public health and nursing in Hamburg
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Mathilde Hackmann
Abstract
This chapter provides an analysis of the public health and nursing issues in the city during the cholera epidemic and examines the changes in the city's health administration and the nursing system after the epidemic. It focuses on the nursing response and contribution to manage a major public health crisis, principally through the nursing work conducted within Hamburg's state-run general hospitals. Two years after the cholera epidemic, the Senate and the Citizens' Assembly decided to reorganise the nursing system in the state-run hospitals. They set up a committee to research the introduction of Schwesternpflege in Hamburg. The committee strongly recommended the system of Schwesternpflege, arguing that Red Cross nurses were well established in Germany and a similar approach for an organised female nursing system could be introduced in Hamburg. The nursing system in the state hospitals should be put under female supervision.
Abstract
This chapter provides an analysis of the public health and nursing issues in the city during the cholera epidemic and examines the changes in the city's health administration and the nursing system after the epidemic. It focuses on the nursing response and contribution to manage a major public health crisis, principally through the nursing work conducted within Hamburg's state-run general hospitals. Two years after the cholera epidemic, the Senate and the Citizens' Assembly decided to reorganise the nursing system in the state-run hospitals. They set up a committee to research the introduction of Schwesternpflege in Hamburg. The committee strongly recommended the system of Schwesternpflege, arguing that Red Cross nurses were well established in Germany and a similar approach for an organised female nursing system could be introduced in Hamburg. The nursing system in the state hospitals should be put under female supervision.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Preface xiv
- Introduction 1
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Part I Care and cure in nursing work
- 1 Baby and infant healthcare in Dresden, 1897–1930 21
- 2 The taste of war 35
- 3 ‘In the company of those similarly afflicted’ 52
- 4 ‘Hurting and caring’ 69
- 5 A poverty of leadership 82
- 6 Beyond the cuckoo’s nest 100
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Part II Public health and nursing work
- 7 The cholera epidemic of 1892 and its impact on modernising public health and nursing in Hamburg 123
- 8 ‘Some kindred form of medical social work’ 144
- 9 ‘Community healthcare’ 163
- 10 Nurses in schools, coal towns and migrant camps 180
- Index 200
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Preface xiv
- Introduction 1
-
Part I Care and cure in nursing work
- 1 Baby and infant healthcare in Dresden, 1897–1930 21
- 2 The taste of war 35
- 3 ‘In the company of those similarly afflicted’ 52
- 4 ‘Hurting and caring’ 69
- 5 A poverty of leadership 82
- 6 Beyond the cuckoo’s nest 100
-
Part II Public health and nursing work
- 7 The cholera epidemic of 1892 and its impact on modernising public health and nursing in Hamburg 123
- 8 ‘Some kindred form of medical social work’ 144
- 9 ‘Community healthcare’ 163
- 10 Nurses in schools, coal towns and migrant camps 180
- Index 200
