Florence Nightingale’s dedicated war-time nursing practices are well-known. However, her contributions to medicine and research stretch far beyond.
In the mid-1800s, one of the largest causes of soldier mortality came from unsanitary, cramped living quarters, where communicable diseases could spread easily and where wounds festered. Frustrated with her pleas to officials to improve the living conditions, which seemingly fell on deaf ears (pun intended), Nightingale created compelling visual displays of her data to convince her superiors that her requests were not trivial and simple solutions could be immensely beneficial to soldier health.
When data is presented in such a way that is accessible to those not well versed in a particular field, something magical happens. Thoughts and ideas spread to the general population and to those in positions to affect change. Nightingale, and her team of statesmen, statisticians, and scientists effectively created a bridge from scientific writing to the rest of the world. For more on her story check out the article in the link below.
Reference
Andrews RJ. (2022) How Florence Nightingale changed data visualization forever. Sci Am 327(2):78-85.
Related Posts
Havana Syndrome Sparks Debate Among Experts
Audio-vestibular symptoms are gaining national attention and sparking debate amongst professionals and the public. A CBS 60 Minute report on Sunday, March 31, revisited Havana…
ADHD in Children in the United States
Audiologists sometimes see patients who also present with a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Reuben and Elgaddal (2024) reported the percentage of children in the…
Remote Diagnostic Hearing Assessment in School-Entry-Aged Children
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth and remote audiology visits were increasing in frequency and popularity. D’Onofrio and Zeng (2021) reported that telemedicine was adapted…