Maddocks Wendy Anne
Faculty of Health, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
BMJ Mil Health. 2024 Dec 11;170(e2):e134-e138. doi: 10.1136/military-2022-002325.
New Zealand's initial contribution of 50 nurses to WWI was thought to be sufficient. However, by the time of Armistice Day, at least 550 nurses had served for the New Zealand Army Nursing Service. According to diaries and records, many arrived back broken with a wide disparity in care. No formal analysis of this exists to understand the impact in more detail. The hypothesis is that the nurses who served the longest would carry a higher sickness burden and have a shorter life span than those nurses who had a shorter length of service.
Service files of the first 50 nurses were analysed and compared with the last 50 nurses who served while war was still active. Data from each nurse's file were confirmed with other sources for age, length and type of service, sickness, date of death and any other notable events.
The first cohort of nurses (N=50) had longer periods of sickness, with a higher number of illnesses related to overcrowding, overwork (nervous disorders) and poor hygiene. The first cohort also were awarded many medals of merit, indicative of the extreme conditions they were working in. Individual nurses experienced poor medical treatment on their return to New Zealand. The last cohort (N=50) experienced fewer incidences and different types of sickness, with Spanish Influenza having an impact on serving nurses near the end of the war. In addition, the second cohort died younger compared with the first cohort, and none received medals of merit.
This analysis has identified that many New Zealand nurses experienced severe health effects due to their service, and their health needs were poorly considered on their return to New Zealand. The Matron in Chief and others battled to have the nurses cared for appropriately. These lessons remain as valid now as they did in 1918.
新西兰最初向第一次世界大战派遣50名护士的贡献被认为是足够的。然而，到停战日时，至少有550名护士为新西兰陆军护理服务部队效力。根据日记和记录，许多人回国时身心俱疲，受到的待遇差异很大。目前尚无对此进行的正式分析以更详细地了解其影响。假设是，服役时间最长的护士将比服役时间较短的护士承担更高的疾病负担且寿命更短。
分析了首批50名护士的服役档案，并与战争仍在进行时服役的最后50名护士的档案进行了比较。每个护士档案中的数据通过其他来源确认了年龄、服役时长和类型、疾病情况、死亡日期以及任何其他显著事件。
首批护士（N = 50）患病时间更长，与过度拥挤、过度劳累（神经紊乱）和卫生条件差相关的疾病数量更多。首批护士还获得了许多功绩勋章，这表明她们工作的条件极其恶劣。个别护士回到新西兰后受到了糟糕的治疗。最后一批护士（N = 50）患病的发生率和类型较少，西班牙流感在战争接近尾声时对在职护士产生了影响。此外，第二批护士相比第一批护士去世时更年轻，且无人获得功绩勋章。
该分析表明，许多新西兰护士因其服役经历而健康受到严重影响，她们回国后健康需求未得到充分考虑。护士长及其他人努力争取让护士得到妥善照料。这些教训在1918年和现在同样适用。
