HIST 249 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Medicalization, American Cancer Society, Intellectual Disability

• School: McGill University
• Department: History
• Course: HIST 249
• Professor: Faith Wallis

Document Summary

The scope of public health: epidemic diseases, environmental pollution, diseases related to social conditions. History has been consistent tendency to expand the scope of public health and shift focus without abandoning earlier roles. Late 19th, early 20th centuries: bacteriological era: targeting microorganisms and vectors. What is the cause/major causes: often more than one. These are political judgments: not completely ignoring science though. And ideas about causation may be due to science, political ideology, and/or cultural values: o(cid:373)e people do(cid:374)(cid:859)t thi(cid:374)k go(cid:448)er(cid:374)(cid:373)e(cid:374)t should i(cid:374)terfere (cid:449)ith people. Individualize public health problems (focus on individual behaviour rather than social problems) Medicalize problems and weaken distinction between prevention, diagnosis and cure. Pills as a form of prevention: pills as prevention is highly medicalized. Hift fro(cid:373) (cid:271)a(cid:272)teriology a(cid:374)d ge(cid:374)eral perso(cid:374)al hygie(cid:374)e to spe(cid:272)ifi(cid:272) (cid:862)risk fa(cid:272)tors(cid:863) Tuberculosis declining but still major cause of mortality until 1905 or so. Hereditary (cid:862)(cid:449)eak(cid:374)ess(cid:863) or i(cid:374)fir(cid:373)ities (cid:894)ofte(cid:374) eth(cid:374)i(cid:272) or ra(cid:272)ial(cid:895) u(cid:374)til after wwii.