Chicago Public Health History

In order to understand current health delivery services changes and formulate predictions, one must thoroughly comprehend the three developmental eras of the health care system. The evolution of our current health care system began in 1850, and has metamorphosed in three time periods, 1850 to 1900, 1900 to World War II (WW II), and WW II to 2009. Significant distinct and overlapping trends in disease prevalence, availability of health care resources, social organizations, and the public's knowledge and perception of health and illness and technology.

In the preindustrial era, 1800s, the United States fell behind other countries in health services. There was no medical training until around 1870 (Shi & Singh, 2013). Medical training began with students training under the supervision of physicians. Physicians saw patients by making house calls. Health care was delivered in a free market (Shi & Singh, 2013). No one had insurance so costs were out of pocket. For most Americans, this was a problem and some rural areas relied on folk medicine to heal the sick. The medical institutions during this era were not sanitized properly and nurses were not trained to practice safety and hygiene care. The government provided facilities for elderly, chronically ill patients, and clinics that offered free care.

In the early 19th Century the vast majority of housing for the working class was in a terrible condition, which were mainly due to overcrowding, poor ventilation and unsanitary environments. These issues lead to outbreaks of cholera on a number of occasions between the years 1813 and 1865. The Public Health Act was introduced in 1848, which required all local authorities to provide towns with hygienic sewage disposal and clean water supplies. Due to the presence of disease in slums, the Sanitary Reform Act was introduced in 1866. The act gave local authorities powers to inspect the cleanliness of homes in their district. (Naidoo and Wills, 2009). As stated by Berridge, Martin and Mold (2011), the Sanitary Reform Act aimed to address the problems with sewage, household waste and contaminated

It is hard to imagine in the twenty first century the level of filth that was experienced in the 1830’s on a daily basis. Sanitation, public health and sewer systems were problems that gripped the nation throughout the ninetieth century (1830-1860s), encouraging popular debate and proposal of changes. The growth of population and increase in the industry

In American industrial cities, late 1800s, Poor neighborhood were not the best place to live. With poor living conditions, poor sanitation and crowded housing, many epidemics of infectious disease spread into the poor population and touched even the wealthy class. Cities such as New York were crowded and workers were living in tenements, which were often cramped, poorly lit and poorly aerated. Moreover, these tenements lacked of adequate plumbing, therefore waste was flooding in the public streets. Streets was crowded of waste and garbage. Population was poorly nourished and has a poor life hygiene like water pollution and poisoned food and milk. Accordingly, infectious disease was the common death reason. Big cities had known outbreaks of

The Changes In Medicine In The Nineteenth Century The nineteenth century was one of the most important eras in the history of medicine as many new cures and technologies were discovered. At the beginning, many poor people still lived in houses without proper sanitation, worked in dangerous factories and drank water from polluted rivers. By the end of the century, social conditions had improved, medicine was more complex, treatments were more widely offered and technology was more advanced along with many other improvements. But why did these changes occur?

This essay will compare the 19th, 20th and 21st century in relation to the main public health strategies used in United Kingdom. It will also compare the similarities and differences of the living conditions in towns and cities between the three named centuries above.

Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" (1920, C.E.A. Winslow). This therefore infers public health is the preventing and controlling of disease within communities, to prolong life and promote health through organised society. The keys aspects of public health …

Death, sickness, and epidemics were very prominent during the Progressive Era. America was going through a very rough time because of the increase in health risks. With all this happening America was recovering from World War One and the Financial Crises in the business community. During 1916 America experienced one of its first epidemics with a large case of polio, causing nearly 3000 deaths with over 9000 cases. This epidemic could have been caused due to the Public’s Health being poor during the Progressive Era, this was due to the lack of basic human sanitation, poor living conditions, and the rarity of children’s medical institutions (Healthcare).

Ultimately, the week of the Broad Street outbreak impacted the ways cities organized themselves. Solutions for problems such as cholera helped urbanization in advancing sanitation standards. The Great Stink of 1858 forced authorities to confront the

Another thing that was happening in the 1830s was the religious and cultural practices and the forbidden conducts; during this period it was notable that people were quarantine for epidemics, sexual prohibitions to minimize illness spread and dietary restrictions to minimize nutrition illnesses. The hygiene movement (1840 – 1870) brought, the sanitary conditions as the foundation for improvement. The contagion control (1880 – 1940) in which immunology and outbreak investigations began. Between the 1950s and mid-1980s, the

A community health assessment is a fundamental instrument of public health practice. Its objective is to depict the health of the community, by presenting information on health standing, community health needs, resources, and epidemiologic and other studies of present local health problems. It seeks to recognize target populations that may be at augmented risk of poor health results and to increase a better understanding of their needs, as well as evaluates the larger community surroundings and how it relate to the health of people. It also identifies those areas where better information is desired, particularly information on health differences amid different subpopulations, quality of health care, and the incidence and severity of disabilities in the population. The Community Health Assessment is the foundation for all local public health development, giving the local health component the instance to recognize and network with key community leaders, businesses and concerned residents about health priorities and concerns. This information shapes the foundation of improving the health status of the community by way of a strategic plan (The Municipal Public Health Services Plan Community Health Assessment Guidance and Format, n.d.).

The main historical developments that have shaped the health care delivery system in the United States. Knowledge of the history of health care is essential for understanding the main characteristics of the system as it exists today. For example, the system’s historical foundations explain why health care delivery in the United States has been resistant to national health insurance, which has been adopted by Canada and most European nations. Traditionally held American cultural beliefs and values, technological advances, social changes, economic constraints, and political

During the early part of the 20th century, infectious diseases predominated as the highest cause of mortality

The answer lies in the climate fostered in Victorian England. It was one of unparalleled progress due to exploding industrialization of cities with modern factories, production processes, and advanced engineering. This exciting era also brought momentous discoveries in Geology, Astronomy, and the sciences. Discoveries like electricity and vaccines made a huge difference in the citizen’s quality of life. However, even though there was much advancement, the unsafe sanitation