Florence Nightingale (1820–1910): An Unexpected Master of Data

Abstract

Florence Nightingale is known for her nursing skills in the Crimean War. This article shows how she used her mathematical and statistical knowledge to advise the British Army and government on the best approaches for medical data collection and management, thus significantly reducing mortality rates. Many of the problems she described are just as relevant today.

Unveiling the Hidden Potential of Big Data: Empowering Nurses through Data Science

“…Os enfermeiros devem documentar e recolher dados de forma consistente para apoiar a investigação, promovendo a colaboração e a tradução do conhecimento. A utilização pioneira da estatística por Florence Nightingale durante a Guerra da Crimeia destaca o poder transformador dos dados (Bradshaw, 2020). Florence Nightingale demonstrou que a tomada de decisões deve ser feita com base na evidência e não na perceção ou na tradição.…”

“…Florence Nightingale demonstrou que a tomada de decisões deve ser feita com base na evidência e não na perceção ou na tradição. Atualmente, os enfermeiros têm a oportunidade de utilizar a ciência de dados para melhorar os resultados no domínio da saúde (Bradshaw, 2020). A ciência de dados está a transformar os cuidados de saúde, nomeadamente através de dispositivos portáteis e tecnologias vestíveis (Uddin & Syed-Abdul, 2020).…”

Interdisciplinarity catalyzes sustained development of nursing discipline

“…It's worth noting that polar-area diagrams, also known as Nightingale Rose Charts, were created by Nightingale in her report to visualize the situations in Crimea. She is therefore hailed as a pioneer in data visualization and statistical graphics 11 .…”

Introduction to the issue and goodbye as co‐editor in chief

“…Whether a cross-sectional survey, 13,16 a randomized clinical trial, 14 a systematic review with meta-analysis, 1,2,17 a scoping review, 18 a short evidence-based review 19 or the development and validation of a scale 20,21 all require some basic statistical analysis to analyse their results and draw conclusions. Florence Nightingale was the first nurse to use statistics to show the effects of poor hygiene on mortality during the Crimean War 22 which positively altered the way that care was delivered and saved lives. The effectiveness of clinical nursing care and treatments can only be proven through quantitative research involving robust statistical analysis.…”