Health, Women, and Family: Historical Underpinnings of Salvador Allende’s Maternal-Infant Program

Sep 17, 2023

Ricardo Ayala, Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, University of the Americas, Santiago, Chile

Markus Thulin, German Association for the History of Nursing

This  article  reconstructs  Chile’s cultural   health   policy,   focusing on  the  maternal-infant  program. This program emerges as a nexus interlinking  gender,  politics,  and health, all in service of propagating discourses encompassing industrial advancement  and  national  well-being.  The  research  draws  from original archival sources, allowing    a    spotlight    on    the program’s    enduring    continuity across decades and diverse political regimes—from the early 20th century through the Popular Unity  government.  As  the  article reveals,    education    assumes    a pivotal   role   across   three   areas within   the   evolution   of   social medicine: instructional frameworks, professional training, and popular education.

The article was published in Spanisch language:

https://vocero.uach.mx/index.php/debates-por-la-historia/article/view/1148/2156

Mother and Child in the Hospital Del Salvador, Santiago de Chile, 1973
Biblioteca Nacional de Chile, Archivo Fotográfico, FB-014088

New Publication: Nursing, Policy and Politics in Twentieth-century Chile

May 19, 2023

Markus Thulin, Fachgesellschaft Pflegegeschichte e.V.

Ricardo Ayala, Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, University of the Americas, Santiago, Chile

This book offers the first in-depth account of healthcare policy in Chile across the twentieth century. It charts how nursing and nurses intersected with the political context of healthcare, with a focus on the country’s transition across welfare systems. Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with nurses and governmental representatives, this book explores how the nursing profession implemented and challenged reform, while policies had an impact on nurses. It analyses nurses’ employment and mobility, and their lobbying through the press and through unions. The authors demonstrate that while Chilean health policy was influenced by US cultural politics, reform depended on the flexibility and willingness of nurses to carry through reforms. By examining the participation of the largest female professional group, the book offers new insights into the privatization of society on the pinnacle of industrial development and seeks to contribute to contemporary debates on Chile’s welfare system.

For more information:

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-90835-5