ABSTRACT
AIM: Several Italian male nurses employed at the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan were among the dead during First World War. This paper investigates whether and in which way these people are remembered. In addition the authors draw a picture of the nursing profession as it were in the early Twentieth Century in Italy. METHOD: The administrative documentation of 127 male nurses on duty at the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan and called to arms between 1915 and 1918 was examined. The documents were found in the historical archive of the Ospedale Maggiore from July 2015 to March 2016 and analyzed using the method of historical research according to Chabod (2012). RESULTS: Documents that witnessed the death of 5 male nurses during the war were found. These people were praised for their courage, self-sacrifice and commitment in attending the sick and the wounded. The hospital community arranged to devolve a sum of money to their families in sign of gratitude and commemorated them by engraving their names in a marble monument. CONCLUSIONS: Many memories of civilian male nurses in the years 1915-1918 emerged from this investigation, and the professional identity of nurses in the 1920s emerged quite clearly. The participation of male nurses in the First World War, in conjunction with the recurrence of its centenary, could be further deepened.
Subject(s)
Nurses, Male/history , World War I , History, 20th Century , Humans , Italy , MaleABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: dehydration is a frequent condition in older people and is associated with an increased risk of negative health outcomes. In order to adopt strategies to prevent complications, an early recognition of this status is of primary importance. For this reason, a comprehensive assessment tool to monitor hydration status in older people could be useful. AIM: to develop a screening tool to detect dehydration in older people in hospital settings. METHODS: this is a diagnostic, observational study. The new tool is a modified version of the Geriatric Dehydration Screening Tool (GDST), integrated with seven questions and two clinical signs based on updated literature. We tested the new tool with people aged 65 or over. We used as reference standard serum osmolarity. Cronbach's alpha was used to measure the tool's reliability and subscales. We calculated the Area Under ROC Curve (AUC) to choose the cut-off that gave the best balance between sensibility and specificity. RESULTS: 127 patients participated in the study. The reliability of the new GDST was acceptable (Cronbach's alpha 0.63). The diagnostic accuracy, measured with AUC analysis, was 0.83 ± 0.04, p 0.0001 95% CI 0.72-0.87. The best cut-off value was 6 and showed a sensibility of 78%, specificity of 70%. Tongue dryness proved to be the most significant clinical sign associated with poor hydration status (AUC 0.78; p 0.0001, 95% CI 0.69-0.86). CONCLUSION: The new GDST presented an acceptable reliability and diagnostic accuracy that increased with the assessment of some items, such as tongue dryness. This is the first screening tool that presents a promising cut-off value.
Subject(s)
Dehydration/diagnosis , Geriatric Assessment/methods , Hospitalization , Mass Screening/methods , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Osmolar Concentration , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity , Tongue , Xerostomia/etiologyABSTRACT
. The nurses of the Ospedale Maggiore of Milan during the First World War. Peace, rights and dignity of work. INTRODUCTION: During the First World War the Hospitals of the big cities had to care for the people injured in the war places. To face this challenge, important changes in the internal organization had to be implemented. OBJECTIVE: To investigate how the First World War changed the working conditions of the nurses on duty at the Ospedale Maggiore and to contribute to outline the professional identity during the years of the conflict. METHODS: The correspondence between the female nursing staff and the hospital administration in the time span between from 1915 to 1918 was examined. The documents were retrieved in the historical archive of the Ospedale Maggiore from November 2017 to march 2018 and were analyzed through the methodology of historic research according to Chabod. RESULTS: During the First World War the nurses asked the hospital administration for changes of their working conditions, which had become unbearable because of the conflict. They obtained improvements concerning: a reduction in nightshift work hours, the employment of 86 nurses to guarantee a day off every ten days, replacement of staff in case of absence, increase in salary, paid sick leave. CONCLUSIONS: The nurses of the Ospedale Maggiore of Milan during the First World War, hoping for peace, stood out for their diligence in the care of the sick both civilians and militaries. Besides, they managed to obtain the recognition of they rights and dignity in the workplace.
