Florence Nightingale´s and the Nursing History

Abstract

Introduction: Professional nursing in the world was built on the scientifi c basis proposed by Florence Nightingale (1820-1910). In 2010, the centenary of his death was celebrated. Torecord this milestone, the United Nations (UN) proposed that this year was considered as the International Year of the Nurse. Objective: To verify through literature review, the national and international publications in which Florence Nightingale’s name is cited and compare with the History of Nursing from 1910 to 2016. Methodology: A search of the electronic database was performed in the Virtual Health Library (BVSBIREME), refining the data sources from Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS) and International Health Sciences Literature (MEDLINE), under the terms “Florence Nightingale”, “History” and “Nursing”. Results: The search totalized 507 articles found, after reading the abstracts,19 articles were included, and were analyzed according to the precepts of content analysis. The publications demonstratedthe importance of Florence Nightingale in the development of nursing. Conclusions: The research reinforces the fact that Florence’s ideas are spread around the world. There are 19 works located in which the knowledge of this character is disseminated, largest exponent of Nursing, a fundamental contribution, which by the data presented in the research emphasizeshis importance, reflecting hisdecisive role in the construction of this science called “Nursing”.