Florence Nightingale, Quality of Life and Statistics

Abstract

Florence Nightingale, the ‘Lady with the Lamp,’ was a pioneer reformer who substantially raised the content, impact as also the status of nursing and public healthcare service. Nightingale, the ‘Lady with the Data,’ was a passionate statistician and a strong advocate of statistics for reducing the burden of disease and improving the quality of life of people at large. She wrote profusely and developed innovative diagrams to convey messages underlying assiduously collected data in a simple, clear and convincing manner to decision-makers and administrators.