Polio Wars

Sister Kenny and the Golden Age of American Medicine

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Medical, Specialties, Internal Medicine, General, Reference, Public Health
Cover of the book Polio Wars by Naomi Rogers, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Naomi Rogers ISBN: 9780199334131
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: October 18, 2013
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Naomi Rogers
ISBN: 9780199334131
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: October 18, 2013
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

During World War II, polio epidemics in the United States were viewed as the country's "other war at home": they could be neither predicted nor contained, and paralyzed patients faced disability in a world unfriendly to the disabled. These realities were exacerbated by the medical community's enforced orthodoxy in treating the disease, treatments that generally consisted of ineffective therapies. Polio Wars is the story of Sister Elizabeth Kenny -- "Sister" being a reference to her status as a senior nurse, not a religious designation -- who arrived in the US from Australia in 1940 espousing an unorthodox approach to the treatment of polio. Kenny approached the disease as a non-neurological affliction, championing such novel therapies as hot packs and muscle exercises in place of splinting, surgery, and immobilization. Her care embodied a different style of clinical practice, one of optimistic, patient-centered treatments that gave hope to desperate patients and families. The Kenny method, initially dismissed by the US medical establishment, gained overwhelming support over the ensuing decade, including the endorsement of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (today's March of Dimes), America's largest disease philanthropy. By 1952, a Gallup Poll identified Sister Kenny as most admired woman in America, and she went on to serve as an expert witness at Congressional hearings on scientific research, a foundation director, and the subject of a Hollywood film. Kenny breached professional and social mores, crafting a public persona that blended Florence Nightingale and Marie Curie. By the 1980s, following the discovery of the Salk and Sabin vaccines and the March of Dimes' withdrawal from polio research, most Americans had forgotten polio, its therapies, and Sister Kenny. In examining this historical arc and the public's process of forgetting, Naomi Rogers presents Kenny as someone worth remembering. Polio Wars recalls both the passion and the practices of clinical care and explores them in their own terms.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

During World War II, polio epidemics in the United States were viewed as the country's "other war at home": they could be neither predicted nor contained, and paralyzed patients faced disability in a world unfriendly to the disabled. These realities were exacerbated by the medical community's enforced orthodoxy in treating the disease, treatments that generally consisted of ineffective therapies. Polio Wars is the story of Sister Elizabeth Kenny -- "Sister" being a reference to her status as a senior nurse, not a religious designation -- who arrived in the US from Australia in 1940 espousing an unorthodox approach to the treatment of polio. Kenny approached the disease as a non-neurological affliction, championing such novel therapies as hot packs and muscle exercises in place of splinting, surgery, and immobilization. Her care embodied a different style of clinical practice, one of optimistic, patient-centered treatments that gave hope to desperate patients and families. The Kenny method, initially dismissed by the US medical establishment, gained overwhelming support over the ensuing decade, including the endorsement of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (today's March of Dimes), America's largest disease philanthropy. By 1952, a Gallup Poll identified Sister Kenny as most admired woman in America, and she went on to serve as an expert witness at Congressional hearings on scientific research, a foundation director, and the subject of a Hollywood film. Kenny breached professional and social mores, crafting a public persona that blended Florence Nightingale and Marie Curie. By the 1980s, following the discovery of the Salk and Sabin vaccines and the March of Dimes' withdrawal from polio research, most Americans had forgotten polio, its therapies, and Sister Kenny. In examining this historical arc and the public's process of forgetting, Naomi Rogers presents Kenny as someone worth remembering. Polio Wars recalls both the passion and the practices of clinical care and explores them in their own terms.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book The Equity Risk Premium by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book Why Religion is Natural and Science is Not by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book Vineyards, Rocks, and Soils by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book Greed by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book The Artful Mind by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book Writing With Power : Techniques For Mastering The Writing Process by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book Rome:An Empire's Story by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book History of Science: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book Achieving College Dreams by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book Rethinking Modern European Intellectual History by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book Black Culture and Black Consciousness by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book Denying to the Grave by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book Bitter Pills by Naomi Rogers
Cover of the book Red Families V. Blue Families : Legal Polarization And The Creation Of Culture by Naomi Rogers
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy