Earlier this year, the UCSF Archives and Special Collections announced the availability of the digitized collections of five 20th century female physicians and social workers:
- Hulda Evelyn Thelander, MD
- Helen Fahl Gofman, MD
- Leona Mayer Bayer, MD
- Selma Fraiberg, MSW
- Carol Hardgrove, MA
All five women were trailblazers in developmental-behavioral pediatrics research, patient care, and public health policy. The project to digitize their collections, “Pioneering Child Studies: Digitizing and Providing Access to Collection of Women Physicians Who Spearheaded Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics,” was made possible by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
These digital collections, are enhanced by an online primary source set that is freely available to anyone interested in learning more about the work of these five pioneers.
Primary source set development
Aimee Medeiros, PhD, an associate professor of history and health sciences in the UCSF Department of Humanities and Social Sciences collaborated with Archives and Special collections to create the primary source set. This resource captures key contributions each woman made in developmental-behavioral pediatrics by highlighting original documents and artifacts. Materials include diaries, memoirs, travel accounts, medical manuscripts, and research notes. Furthermore, the primary source set aims to expand innovative and meaningful learning strategies, while supporting learner’s knowledge building, engagement, and critical thinking skills with items from UCSF’s holdings.
Contents
The primary source set covers the following information for each pioneer.
- Education, professional accomplishments, and background
- What makes them a pioneer in developmental-behavioral pediatrics
- Three items from each digital collection published on Calisphere, the University of California’s online repository for digital collections
- Three key contributions to behavioral and developmental pediatrics
Benefits of access
Professor Medeiros has curated a powerful resource that reflects the contributions and research of Thelander, Fahl Gofman, Mayer Bayer, Fraiberg, and Hardgrove. When reflecting on the project she shares, “These women were visionaries who were long overshadowed. Their stories are a powerful testament to the innovation and strength of women in medicine. I am humbled by their journeys and grateful to the Library for selecting me to help bring their contributions to light.”
Bringing these materials together further demonstrates these pioneers’ achievements, accomplishments, and influence in medicine. Finally, access to these collections allows for a deeper exploration of their contributions to the field of developmental-behavioral pediatrics and sheds light on the inner workings and study of 20th century pediatric research, theory, and practice.
Feature image; Helen Gofman, California State University’s renewal application for Training in the Behavioral Aspects of Pediatric Health.