Abstract

AGOSTONI, Claudia. Health Messengers. Health Visitors in Mexico City in the 1920s. Estud. hist. mod. contemp. Mex [online]. 2007, n.33, pp.89-120. ISSN 0185-2620.

The article analyzes the way the health authorities conceived of and defined district nurses' work in the 1920s in Mexico City, confirmed as the center of the country after a decade marked by violence, illness and unhealthiness. According to the Department of Public Health, it was crucial to increase Mexicans' life expectancy and prevent the deaths of children under the age of two. The health authorities therefore felt it was essential to transform the population's habits and customs, described as irresponsible, unhealthy and contradicting the postulates of medical sciences. The district nurse became a key link between the health authorities and the general public in preventive medicine.

Keywords : district nurse; maternal and child health; hygiene; preventive medicine.

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