YR2: public health breadth 1 Flashcards
Define Pauper / Pauperism
a person in receipt of poor relief
Define Relief
support given to paupers to enable them to maintain a basic standard of living. This relief could be ‘outdoor’ (provided in their own homes) or ‘indoor’ (provided in a poorhouse/workhouse)
Define Parish
an area served by a vicar and a parish Church ; acts of Parliament from the 16th century used the parish as an area of secular administration
Define Laissez-faire
‘leave alone’. the belief that the government should interfere in people’s lives as little as possible
Give statistics that show the rising population before and during the industrial revolution
1781 - 1871 population of Britain grew from 13 million to 31million +
and by 1939 to almost 48 million
in what years did the population increase and move RAPIDLY in Britain? where to?
1811 - 1841 population increased rapidly and moved to the cities to take advantages of the job opportunities (industrial revolution)
for what reasons did the death rate fall due to between 1811 - 1841?
- medical industry produced the vaccine preventing spread of smallpox
-agricultural industry produced food in better quantity + quality - chemical industry produced cheap and readily available soap
for what reason did the birth rate rise due to between 1811 - 1841?
-fewer people dying when young meant that more people survived into their twenties & thirties to have babies
Give statistics that show the changing distribution of the population 1800 -1900
1801 - 33% of population lived in towns
1851 - 50% of population lived in towns
1891 - 72% of population lived in towns
1900s - 4/5 British citizens were urban dwellers
in what year was civil registration introduced?
1837
give 3 examples of common diseases of the 19th century
typhoid, diphtheria, tuberculosis, cholera, scarlet fever, measles, whooping cough
what are the areas of public health?
HOUSING, SANITATION, WATER SUPPLY, VACCINATION, VACCINATION, DISEASE PREVENTION, EPIDEMOLOGY
What 3 aspects of public health do we look at to observe public health problems caused by the industrial revolution?
HOUSING, SANITATION, DEALING WITH THE DEAD.
what public health problems were caused by the industrial revolution regarding housing?
- SLUMS - poorly built houses with bad ventilation, overcrowding, outside toilets often riddled with damp & mould. Animals lived alongside people. Hubs for disease transmission.
-OVERCROWDING - illness spread easily from person to person
housing located next to FACTORIES - smog + pollution caused a variety of respiratory issues
what public health problems were caused by the industrial revolution regarding sanitation?
- lack of DRAINAGE, no SEWERAGE + lack of CLEAN WATER. breeding ground for waterborne diseases like cholera
- OUTSIDE TOILETS - not emptied regularly + large accumulations of human filth = breeding ground for disease.
-POOR WATER SUPPLIES - often waste was emptied into streams + animal carcasses were washed out in rivers –> waterborne diseases
-belief that rivers were self cleaning.
what public health problems were caused by the industrial revolution regarding dealing with the dead?
-grave diggers could contract typhus + smallpox
-graves could contaminate soil which could contaminate water supply –> cholera
- people living near graveyards ‘breathed the odour of the dead’
- 1 in 4 infant mortality rate
- overcrowding + contamination in graveyards
- London: 50,000 dead were added to 200 acres of cemeteries every year
what is cholera?
infectious, waterborne disease which causes diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal cramps leading to severe hydration
- fatalistic
give statistics showing impact of cholera 1831-1871. what do they suggest?
1831 - 31,000 died from cholera
1848 - 62,000 died from cholera
1866-1871 - 14000 died from cholera
prevention of cholera by scientific discoveries + public health acts
what was MIASMA THEORY?
disease was created by bad air. with tiny particles that we couldn’t see. characterised by foul smells. sent as a punishment from God for sinning
Explain Germ Theory
-created by French scientist Louis Pasteur
- microorganisms in the air caused disease
- used silkworms , milk etc to try prove his theory
who backed up germ theory?
Joseph Lister - 1830 built a microscope that could magnify 1000 times without distortion so microorganisms could be seen.
Robert Koch - identified the germs that caused most of the diseases of the 1800s
why was cholera so significant?
-the high percentage ( 40-60 ) among those who contracted the disease?
-the speed with which cholera could strike
consequently caused 4 separate epidemics throughout the 1800s
what were the cholera riots protesting against?
against the local medical men / doctors. conspiracies spread that they were murdering cholera victims to steal their bodies for dissections
how many cholera - phobia riots were there and where?
30 recorded cholera riots. towns and cities like Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool etc
name the all other reasons / beliefs for the cholera riots :
- fear that medical students were stealing bodies for their anatomy classes
- belief that doctors were murdering cholera victims
- belief that victims were being buried in unconsecrated ground
- belief that victims were being buried hastily : before they were dead + without proper religious ceremony
what response did the central government take to the cholera riots? 1831-32
-set up temporary Bord of Health 1831: coordinate efforts to combat cholera, issued guidelines on quarantine for sanitation
-Cholera Prevention Acts 1832: granted local boards of health emergency powers to implement quarantine + sanitation measures
-National Public Health measures 1848: Public Health Act 1848 created a permanent General Board of Health to oversee sanitation & urban planning
what response did the local governments take to the cholera riots? 1831-32
-quarantines: enforced quarantines in affected areas, often angered people. but weren’t always effective due to the real cause of cholera not being understood.
-sanitation & cleaning: cleaned streets, removed waste and encouraged better hygiene practices. Also worked to drain standing water
-Hospitals + medical care: temporary hospitals were set up to isolate & treat victims, though these were often met with resistance.
how effective were the quarantine measures in response to the cholera outbreaks?
largely ineffective in controlling cholera as it didn’t address the real cause - contaminated water. worsened public relations between government and working classes
how effective were the sanitation measures in response to the cholera outbreaks?
although they were based on miasma theory, partially effective as it helped to reduce the spread of other diseases by cleaning streets + encouraging better hygiene
how effective were the public health reforms in response to the cholera outbreaks?
the long term reforms were effective as they began to address the underlying causes of disease outbreaks by improving living conditions
list the 5 attempted cures of cholera
-quarantine based on miasma theory
-cleaning the streets to get rid of bad air - miasma theory
-home remedies, ointments. such as crushed beetles
-prayer
-people (capitalists) sold patent / fake medicines
NAME the 4 key public health reports
1) James Kay 1832: the moral + physical conditions of the working classes of Manchester
2) Edwin Chadwick 1842: report on the sanitary conditions of the Labouring population of Great Britain
3) 1844: Royal Commission into the Sanitary condition of large towns
4) 1845: Report of the Bradford Woolcombers Sanatory Committee
