"É melhor prevenir do que curar": a higiene e a saúde nas escolas públicas gaúchas (1893-1928)

Abstract

“Preventing is better than curing”: Hygiene and Health in the Public Schools of the State of Rio Grande do Sul from 1893 to 1928 discusses the treatment given by the public officials of the state of Rio Grande do Sul to issues related to hygiene and health in the elementary schools in the period from 1893 to 1928. The analysis of the introductions to the reports of the state´s Department Of Internal and External Affairs, of the reports on Hygiene and Public Instruction – wich were administratively subjected to that Department – and of the legislation of the period reveals that the public officials of Rio Grande do Sul – in accordance with discussions that were being conducted at the national level – didn´t fail to express their concern with the high rates of infant mortality and criminality. Taking into account the political positions adopted by them and the strategies they employed to lower those rates, this thesis focuses on the propositions designed to guarantee good health in the schools, healthy developm