Sun and fresh air in the fight against tuberculosis: Experiences of outdoor education in Rio de Janeiro (1910-1920)

Abstract

Rio de Janeiro created the School Sanitary Inspection Service in 1910. From that moment, physicians and educators promoted a series of debates, recorded in reports, journals, books and press, about the best ways to prevent the spread of tuberculosis among scholars. The article aims to present and analyze some discussions and measures put into practice by physicians and educators in the city during the 1910s and 1920s to confront childhood tuberculosis. As a solution, solariums, preventoriums, children’s summer camps (vacation colonies) and open-air schools were proposed and implemented.