SOCIOL 5450 Study Guide - Final Guide: Tropical Medicine, Waterborne Diseases, Global Health
2 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Coloial Mediie to iteratioal ediie
Defiig gloal health
Multiple definitions
Health oers that ross atioal orders
Collaoratie trasatioal researh ad atio for prootig health for all
May ore defiitios…
Gloal
For people ho study eooi ad politial gloalizatio, gloal iplies oig eyod atioal
boundaries
Not just crossing national boundaries or involving multiple countries: processes where the nation is not
the relevant unit of analysis
(There is not a clear consensus definition in these areas either)
Precursors to global health
Colonial medicine (19th century into 20th century)
Health in European colonies - health of the colonized and the colonizers
Defined by geography and by power relations
Tropical health (late 19th century into 20th century)
Geographically defined - health in tropical places
International health (20th century)
Health ork aroad aroad for ho?, typially used to desrie researh or pratie i
developing countries
Often linked to economic development projects
Defining global health through global health organizations
Colonial medicine
Colonial health and the colonial projects
For the colonizers
Exposure to new diseases to which they did not have immunity and for which they did not have
treatment
Malaria and other insect-borne diseases
Water-borne diseases and diseases related to poor hygiene (but note there were plenty of these in
Europe too)
For the colonized
Exposure to new diseases to which they did not have immunity and for which they did not have
treatment - measles, smallpox, tuberculosis
Disruption to trade routes, social organization, land and livestock related to colonization. Example:
sleeping sickness epidemics in East Africa related to movement, people, cattle
In the 1800s in Europe, there was substantial development of biological and medical knowledge
New medical knowledge - especially quinine to to treat malaria, a compound derived from trees grown
in Peru - made it possible for Europeans to explore and settle in places where health challenges had
been more extreme (Ex. interior of Africa)
At the same time, the field of public health was being developed to improve the health of local
populations in Europe
Colonial medical systems were developed as part of the colonial governing structure
Colonial medical systems provided (some) individual care and instituted public health campaigns among
local populations
Colonial medical services were designed to meet the needs of colonial governments (Ex. ensure the
health of populations that were needed to provide labor.) They later took on a more general mission of
health improvement, but their services were always limited
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Medical and public health advances made European colonization in Africa, Asia, and the Americas
possible.
Colonial medicine contributed to the justification of European colonization.
Early studies of mortality rates showed that European soldiers stationed in tropical regions experienced
much higher death rates than either European soldiers in Europe or local soliders in tropical regions
These differences were used as evidence of fundamental differences between racial groups
The pereptio of tropial regios as dagerous ad diseased as used to justify Europea iilizig
missions
Some of these attitudes have filtered down into current discourse on global health
Tropical medicine
In the late 1800s, tropical medicine emerged as a field of specialized study in medicine
Tropial ediie - diseases of the tropics, largely insect-born or parasitic
Cosopolita ediie - diseases that could be found anywhere
Colonial powers founded institutes for the study of tropical medicine - center for scientific research, but
also closely tied to colonial infrastructure
New medical knowledge showed that tropical diseases were carried by specific vectors - not the tropical
air itself.
(Also made it possible to address diseases without necessarily treating sick people - distancing tropical
medicine from the health of colonized people)
Missionary medicine
Missionaries traveled along with colonizers in many of the European colonies
Missionaries provided health services (and education) to colonized people along with attempts at
religious conversion
Likage etee Christiaity, oder eliefs, ad good health
Missionary medical services largely took an individual rather than a public health approach
Doctors and clinics rather than public health infrastructure
Treating individuals rather than addressing communities
International health
Early international health organizations
International Sanitary Conferences
First conference held in Paris in 1851; total of 11 conferences held, with the last in 1903
Brought together European countries (and sometime U.S.) to discuss collective health issues: quarantine
rules for ships and travel, spread cholera and plague
Both administrative and scientific
‘atified a series of Iteratioal “aitary Coetios
Early international organizations:
International Sanitary Bureau (ISB; 1907) - established in Paris, brought together health officers from
European countries and U.S.
League of Nations Health Committee (1920) - part of the League of Nations established after WWI, U.S.
not a member
These organizations consulted with each other to address international health issues
Early health efforts largely focused on facilitating trade and commerce
The Pan-American Health Organization
Developed out of the International Sanitary Bureau
The ISB was founded by the US to help manage trade and quarantine regulations in Latin America
Motiated y the push to oplete the Paaa Caal ad y U“ desire to deelop a sphere of
ifluee i Lati Aeria
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Multiple definitions (cid:862)health (cid:272)o(cid:374)(cid:272)er(cid:374)s that (cid:272)ross (cid:374)atio(cid:374)al (cid:271)orders(cid:863) (cid:862)colla(cid:271)orati(cid:448)e tra(cid:374)s(cid:374)atio(cid:374)al resear(cid:272)h a(cid:374)d a(cid:272)tio(cid:374) for pro(cid:373)oti(cid:374)g health for all(cid:863) For people (cid:449)ho study e(cid:272)o(cid:374)o(cid:373)i(cid:272) a(cid:374)d politi(cid:272)al glo(cid:271)alizatio(cid:374), (cid:862)glo(cid:271)al(cid:863) i(cid:373)plies (cid:373)o(cid:448)i(cid:374)g (cid:271)eyo(cid:374)d (cid:374)atio(cid:374)al boundaries. Not just crossing national boundaries or involving multiple countries: processes where the nation is not the relevant unit of analysis (there is not a clear consensus definition in these areas either) Health in european colonies - health of the colonized and the colonizers. Tropical health (late 19th century into 20th century) Health (cid:449)ork (cid:862)a(cid:271)road(cid:863) (cid:894)(cid:862)a(cid:271)road(cid:863) for (cid:449)ho(cid:373)? (cid:895), typi(cid:272)ally used to des(cid:272)ri(cid:271)e resear(cid:272)h or pra(cid:272)ti(cid:272)e i(cid:374) developing countries. Exposure to new diseases to which they did not have immunity and for which they did not have treatment. Water-borne diseases and diseases related to poor hygiene (but note there were plenty of these in. Exposure to new diseases to which they did not have immunity and for which they did not have treatment - measles, smallpox, tuberculosis.
