Dorothy Nyswander
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Bird Nyswander was an American health educator. She graduated with masters and bachelors degrees from the University of Nevada
and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley
. She is considered the Mother of Health education
.
. She worked for the Works Progress Administration
during the Great Depression
; advocated working mothers’ child care while employed with the Federal Works Agency
; and promoted preventive school health as the director of Queen’s City Health Center.
In 1943, Nyswander became instrumental in founding the Berkeley School of Public Health
. In 1946 she became a full-time professor at UC Berkeley and remained there for nearly 12 years. Following her retirement, in 1957, and at age 62, Dorothy Nyswander then began a 16-year career with the World Health Organization
travelling to Jamaica
, Turkey
, Brazil
, the South Seas, and India
developing health education programs. She is said to have regretted not getting into politics. However, in her words "but you don't get to do everything you want in this life" .
Dr. Nyswander was committed to an "Open Society.” In 1966 she defined an open society as "one where justice is the same for every [person]; where dissent is taken seriously as an index of something wrong or something needed; where diversity is expected; . . . where the best of health care is available to all; where poverty is a community disgrace not an individual’s weakness; [and] where desires for power over [people] become satisfaction with the use of power for people” .
MPH Program. Subsequent recipients include Kathleen Roe, former MPH Program Director and chair of the SJSU Health Science Department since 2002; Meredith Minkler, Professor of Health and Social Behavior at UC Berkeley, and Kate Lorig, Professor, in the Stanford University Department of Medicine
and Director of Patient Education Research Center. In 2005, the national Society for Public Health Education created the Open Society Award to honor Dorothy's legacy. The award is given each year to recognize an individual or group who embodies and promotes an Open Society, through research, practice, and/or teaching. The first recipient of this award was the San Jose University Department of Health Science Master of Public Health Program.
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. She is considered the Mother of Health education
Health education
Health education is the profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health...
.
Professional life and vision
Her career spanned over six decades and several continents. During this time, Nyswander was an advocate for community health and rights. As a single mother, she taught in high school while earning her doctorateDoctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
. She worked for the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
; advocated working mothers’ child care while employed with the Federal Works Agency
Federal Works Agency
The Federal Works Agency was an independent agency of the Federal government of the United States which administered a number of public construction, building maintenance, and public works relief functions and laws from 1939 to 1949...
; and promoted preventive school health as the director of Queen’s City Health Center.
In 1943, Nyswander became instrumental in founding the Berkeley School of Public Health
UC Berkeley School of Public Health
The Berkeley School of Public Health is one of the schools located at University of California, Berkeley. Established in 1943, the institution was the first school of public health west of the Mississippi River...
. In 1946 she became a full-time professor at UC Berkeley and remained there for nearly 12 years. Following her retirement, in 1957, and at age 62, Dorothy Nyswander then began a 16-year career with the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
travelling to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, the South Seas, and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
developing health education programs. She is said to have regretted not getting into politics. However, in her words "but you don't get to do everything you want in this life" .
Dr. Nyswander was committed to an "Open Society.” In 1966 she defined an open society as "one where justice is the same for every [person]; where dissent is taken seriously as an index of something wrong or something needed; where diversity is expected; . . . where the best of health care is available to all; where poverty is a community disgrace not an individual’s weakness; [and] where desires for power over [people] become satisfaction with the use of power for people” .
SOPHE
In 1996, two years prior to her death, the California Chapter of the Society for Public Health Education (NC-SOPHE) began awarding the Dorothy B. Nyswander Award for Leadership in Health Education for health educators who have demonstrated the professional standards set forth by Nsywander. The first recipient was Helen Ross, former Chair of the San José State UniversitySan José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
MPH Program. Subsequent recipients include Kathleen Roe, former MPH Program Director and chair of the SJSU Health Science Department since 2002; Meredith Minkler, Professor of Health and Social Behavior at UC Berkeley, and Kate Lorig, Professor, in the Stanford University Department of Medicine
and Director of Patient Education Research Center. In 2005, the national Society for Public Health Education created the Open Society Award to honor Dorothy's legacy. The award is given each year to recognize an individual or group who embodies and promotes an Open Society, through research, practice, and/or teaching. The first recipient of this award was the San Jose University Department of Health Science Master of Public Health Program.
See also
- Health educationHealth educationHealth education is the profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health...
- Health promotionHealth promotionHealth promotion has been defined by the World Health Organization's 2005 Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion in a Globalized World as "the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health"...
- Marie NyswanderMarie NyswanderMarie Nyswander was an American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst known for developing and popularizing the use of methadone to treat heroin addiction.-Biography:Nyswander was born on March 13, 1919, in Reno, Nevada...
, Dorothy Nyswander's daughter, known for her work developing methadoneMethadoneMethadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive for use in patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937...
treatment for heroin addiction