Tuberculosis, Trust, and Patient Trends: Canadian Maritime Sanatoria Patient Trends in Annual Reports

Courtney Mrazek, Mount Allison University

Historians of health frequently use government-generated sources to access patient data. These sources come with benefits and downfalls. In my own research on Canadian patient trends in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island Sanatoria, I use twentieth-century provincial reports that were submitted to the federal government and public to justify operations and chart both economic and medical progress. The individuals employed at certain times made choices when it came to what information was gathered and shared, and had personal and career ambitions that propelled interests in what data and focuses were deemed important, and who was and was not included in the documentary record. The three institutions and their government reports that will be examined in my paper are the Nova Scotia Sanatorium (1904-1969), the New Brunswick Provincial Sanatorium (1909-1960), and the Prince Edward Island Provincial Sanatorium (1931-1944). Because these sanatoria were provincially-run, they were required to submit an annual report to their respective provincial legislatures each year, which was then printed in the province’s following year’s House of Assembly Journal. These reports charted patient age, sex, residence, marital status, occupation, and religion, among other data categories. Newfoundland sanatoria are excluded in this paper due to its later entry into confederation and therefore lack of data in House of Assembly journals. This paper will also address the process of obtaining these records in the digital age.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 11. Public Health from Venereal Disease to Covid