title: Elements of care: nursing environmental theory in historical context.
abstract: The natural elements ether, fire, air, water, and earth foundational to many healing traditions are also present in nursing history. Regulation of these elements can be traced to 19th-century nurses' "sickroom management." Nightingale's Notes on Nursing and Coskery's Advices Concerning the Sick provide examples of holistic application of the elements of care.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina 27858, USA. libsterm@ecu.edu
authors.forename: Martha M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Libster
mesh_terms: D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000266:history*; D004645:Empathy; D004782:Environmental Health / Q000266:history*; D006272:Health Facility Environment / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006694:Holistic Health / Q000266:history*; D018939:Holistic Nursing / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D008370:Manuals as Topic; D019368:Nature; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009742:Nursing Theory