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New Surprises in Very Old Places: Civil War Nurse Leaders and Longevity
Author(s) -
Woodward Wendy
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
nursing forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.618
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1744-6198
pISSN - 0029-6473
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-6198.1991.tb00868.x
Subject(s) - longevity , altruism (biology) , spanish civil war , variety (cybernetics) , marital status , psychology , demography , gerontology , gender studies , social psychology , sociology , political science , medicine , law , population , computer science , artificial intelligence
While the average woman in the U.S. Civil War times lived to the age of about 40, a group of 17 extraordinary nurses–including Louisa Mae Alcott, Dorothea Dix, and Clara Barton–survived to much older ages. A variety of possible reasons, from social and marital status to altruism and religion, is explored. More than any tangible factor, however, the presence of a “pioneering spirit” seems to be at the root of their longevity.