Modelos de estado de bienestar

This section of this thesis has given an account of health services in SA in the period 1950-1967. Understanding and making sense of the main health concerns and common diseases in SA, the available health institutions, and the different sources of funding of these services and health institution in SA in the period under review was thought to be highly relevant to this research. It has provided us with an understanding of what sort of diseases nurses dealt with, and what the main health concerns were in SA at that time. It has also been important for us to understand where nurses worked, what health institutions existed during this period of time, who established and maintained these health institutions, and who paid the nurses’ salaries and training. This chapter has thus provided a context for the questions that this thesis is attempting to explore, which is the nursing services and training in SA in the period under review.

A number of important findings have emerged from this section of this thesis; one of which is the nature of the most common diseases presented in SA at the time. The colony of Aden and the Western and Eastern Protectorates had many health problems and the people suffered numerous health conditions and diseases. These diseases, although arising from differing causes and methods of transmission, were dealt with in a very similar way by the colonial administration, which was clearly in favour of curative measures rather than preventive ones. Thus very little was done about the prevention and spread of these diseases. For the British colonial administration, ill health or poor health of the South Arabians was a problem and a hurdle, but this was mainly for the reason that it threatened the colony’s sustained economic development and the stability of the colonised population.

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Moreover, with regards to dealing with these diseases and health problems during the period of time under review, there was a clear emphasis by the colonial administration on focusing on internal medicine, maternity facilities and paediatrics. At the same time, the colonial administration seems to have paid much less attention to certain important areas, these being: public health, preventive medicine, and health education and promotion. These initiatives are likely to have cost less. And it is thought that they would have been more effective in sustaining the health and wellbeing of the population, yet they were not implemented or taken into consideration.

On the question of the provision of health institutions, this thesis has found that SA had many hospitals; however, most of them and the better ones were in Aden rather than the rest of the country. Hospitals in Aden, in particular, were established for different purposes, had better infrastructure and were likely to have been better staffed. The reports accessed for this study seemed to report more favourably when referring to Aden’s health institutions. They certainly had more to say about these. Furthermore, not many British colonial personnel lived outside Aden; this would probably help to explain why Aden’s hospitals and health institutions in general received more attention from the colonial administration and the editors of its publications. Hospitals outside Aden, whether in the Eastern or Western Protectorates, served mainly the local people, and do not appear to have received much attention in the colonial literature at that time.

This part of this thesis also shows that there was lack of funds available for the provision of health services and the establishment of health institutions especially when it comes to the need of these projects in areas away from Aden. The colonial administration spent more on Aden than the whole of the rest of SA. Evidence of this can be clearly seen in the fact that most of the health services and initiatives that were provided were centred in Aden and in one or two other larger centres. Financial support provided by various sources did help to underpin the provision of health services in SA but could not conceal the fact that, overall, these services lacked infrastructure and governmental planning. It is argued that colonial systems were organized primarily for the

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purpose of realizing profits. Thus any form of health services including nursing services provided by such systems had, to some extent, to conform to this overarching objective.

The health services in SA during the studied period seem to be unorganised and lacked proper planning by the government. However, nursing services, which were part of this health services, will be examined in the next chapter.

Chapter Six: Nursing Services in South Arabia

1950-1967

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to present and discuss key results of this research project in relation to nursing services in SA in the period 1950-1967. In order to do so, the chapter will be divided into three sections, each of which will answer one of three main questions. These are as follows:

Chapter Five: Health Care

Services in SA 1950-1967

Chapter Six: Nursing Services in

SA 1950-1967

Chapter Seven: Nursing Training

in SA 1950-1967

Chapter Eight: Nursing, Culture,

and Colonial Nursing

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i) Who provided nursing services in SA in 1950-1967? And where, and how was this provision organised?

ii) What was the role of those nurses within the overall provision of health services?

iii) What do we know about the people who worked as nurses in SA in the period under study?

Answering these questions will provide a clear view of nursing services available during this specific colonial period in SA. Up until now, Australia, Africa and India are the main focus of the written accounts of history on nursing during the British colonial period. This thesis however, is attempting to add the history of nursing in SA to the list of existing historical accounts of nursing in the British colonies. In this way, it will make an important contribution to our understanding of this historical experience.

The first part of the chapter therefore reports the findings in relation to the provision of nursing services in SA from 1950-1967, and how the provision of these services was organised. In this thesis, the findings are discussed as they are presented so reference will also be made to the existing literature.

6.1 Part 1: The provision and organisation of nursing services in SA in