Who initiated public health/community health nursing in 1895 in New York?

• A. Florence Nightingale
• B. Lilian Wald
• C. Mary Breckinridge
• D. Clara Barton

Answer: (B)

Public health nursing began as nurses moved into communities to prevent illness and improve living conditions. In New York around 1895, Lilian Wald pioneered this approach by establishing the Henry Street Settlement and organizing the first organized visiting-nurse service. She brought nurses into homes, schools, and neighborhoods to provide preventive care, health education, and maternal–child health, all while addressing social needs that affected health. This community-based model—nurses working directly in the community to prevent disease and promote well-being—became the foundation of public health nursing.

Florence Nightingale shaped modern nursing in hospital and hospital reform earlier; Mary Breckinridge led rural/frontier nursing in the 1920s, and Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.