Nursing developments in Iran during World Wars I & II: A historical study

Background and Purpose: Iran's nursing has witnessed remarkable changes in the period 1914 to 1945 that could be a turning point in the history of the nursing professionin Iran. This paper is a survey of modern nursing transformation history in the historical period of the World Warsand their impacton the development of the nursing profession in Iran. Methods: In the present historical study, following the statement of the problem, by an aim to access to the relevant information resources, we studied primary and secondary sources relevant to the research topic. 107 documents including photos, letters, official reports, journal archives, websites, memories, autobiographies, articles and books were studied. To complete the social conditions in this period of the history, the oral tradition history was used, too. First, the social situation of Iran at these periods of history was briefly reviewed and collected data were analyzed. Finally, the causal relationships in the development of nursing-related incidents were investigated. Results: The results of this study can be divided into three sections: socio-political situation in Iran during the Word Wars, the beginning of modern nursing and the start of academic nursing training in Iran. Based on our findings, interactions of multiple factors such as war, famine, presence of foreign forces, and beginning the modern age have led to the onset of modern nursing and nursing education in Iran. Conclusions: This study showed how the response to a social need, and at a critical juncture in the history of Iran, would lead to the quantitative and qualitative development of nursing as an academic discipline.