Hospitalism
Encyclopedia
Hospitalism was a pediatric diagnosis used in the 1930s to describe infants who wasted away while in hospital
. The symptoms could include retarded physical development, and disruption of perceptual-motor skills and language. It is now understood that this wasting disease was mostly caused by a lack of social contact between the infant and its caregivers. Infants in poorer hospitals were less subject to this disease since those hospitals could not afford incubators which meant that the hospital staff regularly held the infants.
The term was used by the psychotherapist René Spitz
in 1945, but its origins are older than this; it occurs in an editorial in Archives on Pediatrics as early as 1897.
It appears under adjustment disorders at , in the World Health Organization
's classification of diseases, ICD-10
.
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
. The symptoms could include retarded physical development, and disruption of perceptual-motor skills and language. It is now understood that this wasting disease was mostly caused by a lack of social contact between the infant and its caregivers. Infants in poorer hospitals were less subject to this disease since those hospitals could not afford incubators which meant that the hospital staff regularly held the infants.
The term was used by the psychotherapist René Spitz
René Spitz
René Árpád Spitz was an American psychoanalyst of Hungarian origin.- Biography :Rene Spitz was born in Vienna and died in Denver, Colorado. From a wealthy Jewish family background, he spent most of his childhood in Hungary. After finishing his medical studies in 1910 Spitz discovered the work of...
in 1945, but its origins are older than this; it occurs in an editorial in Archives on Pediatrics as early as 1897.
It appears under adjustment disorders at , in the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
's classification of diseases, ICD-10
ICD-10
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision is a medical classification list for the coding of diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases, as maintained by the...
.