# From Sick Bed to Death Bed? Patient Composition and Mortality in the Amsterdam Binnengasthuis, 1856–1896

## TL;DR

This study analyzes patient records from a 19th-century Amsterdam hospital to understand who was admitted and how mortality varied over time.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into hospital admission policies and mortality inequality in the 19th century.

## Key findings

- Mortality rates were not extremely high and varied based on admission policies.
- Patient populations were diverse, and mortality risks were influenced by disease, year, age, and marital status.
- Inequality in mortality based on socioeconomic status or religion was limited.

## Abstract

Hospitals played a central role in the nineteenth century, as these institutions were the so-called gateways to death or places of healing. Who was admitted and if there is inequality in who died is, however, often understudied. Our study examines the development and mortality risks of the patient population in the Binnengasthuis in Amsterdam over time by analysing detailed patient records of people admitted to the hospital in the period 1856-1896. Our results demonstrate that mortality was not extremely high and depended on the admission policy, the composition of the patient populations was very diverse, and that mortality risks were mainly determined by the disease, year, age, and marital status of the admitted patients. This indicates that a diverse population could get a sick bed, for most it would not become their death bed, and that inequality in mortality risks within the hospital based on socioeconomic status or religion was limited.