Child health in Istanbul: Dr. G.B. Violi and his monthly La Pédiatrie en Turquie / Türkiye'de Emraz-ı Etfal (1909-1914)

Gülten Dinç - Şeref Etker

Dr. Giovanni Battisa Violi (Modena 1849-İstanbul 1928), who practiced pediatrics in Turkey for more than fifty years, was the founder of the first vaccine institute (Etablissement Vaccinogène, 1881), as well as the first children's hospital (l 'Hôpital Saint-Georges pour les Enfants Malades , 1895) in the Ottoman Empire. Dr. Violi established a new children's hospital in Istanbul in 1905 ( l'Hôpital International des Enfants à Chichli ), and published a monthly journal for child health (consisting of two separate parts in French and Turkish) entitled: La Pédiatrie en Turquie / Türkiye'de Emraz-i Etfal between 1909 and 1914.

The periodical edited by Dr. Violi displayed an international editorial board of renowned pediatricians from Europe (Ausset, Baginsky, Bokay, Escherich, Fischl, Hutinel, Monti, and others), and prominent local physicians from different communities. The journal aimed at promoting state-of-the-art knowledge in child health, addressing both professionals and parents. Another equally important objective of La Pédiatrie en Turquie / Türkiye'de Emraz-i Etfal was to publicise the humanitarian work accomplished in the children's hospital under Dr. Violi's direction. The journal included health and mortality statistics issued by the Medical Office ( Conseil de Santé) for the Ottoman capital, a world review of the pediatric literature, notes on therapeutics, medical and child care consultations with mothers, as well as articles on clinical research, some of them being of historical significance.

The publication of La Pédiatrie en Turquie / Türkiye'de Emraz-i Etfal was interrupted by international political events in 1911, and the enterprise came to an end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Extensive research conducted to-date has revealed that a complete collection is not available in libraries. The table of contents of the collated copies has been appended for this reason. Also noteworthy is the fact that the publication of this pioneering journal (in French and Turkish) came much earlier than English periodicals in pediatric medicine.

Key Words: G.B.Violi, Turkey, pediatrics, children's hospital, medical journal, vaccination, Italy; Anahtar Kelimeler: G.B. Violi, Türkiye, çocuk hekimliği, pediatri, çocuk hastanesi, tıp dergisi, aşılama, İtalya.