early History
How did people in the Middle Ages (Spiritual Era) view illness?
Believed illness was caused and cured by spiritual means.
What did Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906) expose?
Horrible working and sanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry.
Who coined the term “public health nurse”?
Lillian Wald.
What was the average life expectancy in 1900?
Less than 50 years
What law aimed to increase the number of insured individuals in the U.S.?
The Affordable Care Act (ACA).
What was the deadliest epidemic during the Middle Ages?
The plague (Black Death) in 543 and 1348 CE — only 1 in 10 survived.
Who is known as the founder of modern nursing?
Florence Nightingale
What did Lillian Wald and Mary Brewster establish?
The Henry Street Settlement (Henry Street House) in New York.
What were the leading causes of death in 1900?
Communicable diseases.
Name 3 current public health concerns.
Chronic diseases, communicable diseases, alcohol & drug abuse.
What marked the Renaissance era in health?
Renewed interest in science, learning, and observation of disease patterns.
What was the purpose of Nightingale’s Coxcomb Graph?
Show causes of death: red = war wounds, blue = preventable deaths, black = other causes.
Who founded the Frontier Nursing Service?
Mary Breckinridge.
Name 3 common health problems in the early 1900s.
Vitamin deficiencies (rickets/pellagra), poor dental health, lack of pre- and postnatal care.
What are health disparities?
Differences in health outcomes between groups (example: Louisville, KY).
Who created germ theory?
Louis Pasteur
What lessons did Nightingale teach about health?
Environmental determinants of health (fresh air, water, sunlight, cleanliness)
Importance of sanitation
Use of community assessment and data analysis
Reduced mortality from 42% to 2% in military hospitals
What were frontier nursing services?
Improved maternal and infant health outcomes
What are the two types of disasters affecting public health?
Natural and human-made disasters.
Louis Pasteur
what are the primary causes of death worldwide?
Heart disease and CVAs