The role of nursing in the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919

Abstract

Just as the horrors of World War I were winding down, millions of people were stricken by an influenza epidemic that displaced war as the tragic focus of everyday life. The disease was known as the Spanish influenza and was pandemic in scope. Since the epidemic defied the capabilities of prevailing medicine, good nursing care was the best predictor of outcome. Nurses came to the rescue by working long, hard and tirelessly. One important outcome of the epidemic was a general recognition of the visiting nurse service and all nursing as a valuable and essential community service.