Counting nurses: the power of historical census data.

Area of Science:

• Social History
• Demographic Analysis
• Nursing Studies

Background:

• Census data offers valuable quantitative insights into historical changes.
• Accessing historical census data can be challenging for researchers.
• The Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) facilitates easier data retrieval and analysis.

Observation:

• A sample of "professional nurses" from 1900-1950 was extracted from IPUMS.
• Data were analyzed for race, sex, and marital status using SPSS.
• Simple frequency statistics were employed for the analysis.

Findings:

• The number of nurses significantly increased between 1900 and 1950.
• Nurses were predominantly young, female, single, and white until 1930.
• Post-1930, the demographic profile of nurses, including white and African-American women, showed increasing diversity.

Implications:

• This study is the first to systematically track the demographic evolution of U.S. nurses in the early 20th century.
• Digitalization of census data enables new approaches to historical research questions.
• Quantitative social history methods and digital tools have global applications for studying workforce demographics and informing future strategies.