Nightingale didn't accept Germ Theory. What did she believe in?

Study for the WJEC GCSE History of Medicine Test. Engage with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question providing hints and explanations. Prepare for your exam effectively!

Multiple Choice

Nightingale didn't accept Germ Theory. What did she believe in?

Explanation:
Nightingale’s approach was to see illness as coming from the environment, especially from foul air in unsanitary surroundings. She focused on improving air quality in hospitals through better ventilation, cleanliness, sewage and waste disposal, and clean water. This way of thinking is tied to miasma theory—the idea that disease spreads through “bad air” from decaying matter. Germ theory, which points to specific microbes causing disease, wasn’t her view at the time. Spontaneous generation and humoral theory are older ideas that don’t fit her environmental reform stance. So the belief she represents is miasma.

Nightingale’s approach was to see illness as coming from the environment, especially from foul air in unsanitary surroundings. She focused on improving air quality in hospitals through better ventilation, cleanliness, sewage and waste disposal, and clean water. This way of thinking is tied to miasma theory—the idea that disease spreads through “bad air” from decaying matter. Germ theory, which points to specific microbes causing disease, wasn’t her view at the time. Spontaneous generation and humoral theory are older ideas that don’t fit her environmental reform stance. So the belief she represents is miasma.

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