Institutions - Government

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Government

The government played a major role in generating progress in public health.

Government strength

The stronger the government, the better able it was to intervene in health affairs. When the Ancient Roman government was strong, it was able to provide better health services for people.
Strong local government also brought health progress. After the Black Death in 1348, local government officials, wore special suits, improved quarantine and got better at disposing of bodies.
Conclusion: The stronger a government, the better it was at improving public health.

Vaccinations

The British government gave Edward Jenner £10,000 for his vaccination research in 1802. The government made the smallpox vaccination compulsory in 1853.
Conclusion: Governments played a particularly important role in making medicine and vaccinations widely available.

Opposition

Edward Jenner faced opposition to his smallpox vaccine from the Church and the Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League.
When the NHS was created after WW2, there was opposition from some doctors and members of the public.
Conclusion: Opposition to government action often slowed down the process of health reform.

Government inaction

Sometimes the government did not intervene when it should have done. Taxpayers often did not want to pay more to improve others' health.
The government did not always know what to do. This was the case with cholera epidemics in the 1800s.
Conclusion: Governments were not always able to bring about progress in health and medicine.

Legislation (laws)

Later in the period, the government was able to pass laws to improve public health e.g. Public Health Act 1848.
Living conditions improved most when government passed meaningful laws.
Conclusion: One of the strongest ways government could act was through legislation (laws).

Laissez-faire to welfare state

Over the course of the period, government became more and more involved in attempts to improve health.
Before the late 19th century, the government was 'laissez-faire' (it did not do much directly to improve people's lives).
The development of the welfare state in the 20th century was influenced by the reports of Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree.
Conclusion: Those outside government were also able to influence public health.

1Medicine in Medieval England

1.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness

1.1.1Supernatural & Religious Explanations

1.1.2Hippocrates

1.1.3Galen

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Ideas About Disease

1.1.5Exam-Style Questions - Hippocrates' Contribution

1.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

1.2.1Medieval 'Doctors'

1.2.2Medieval Surgery

1.3Case Study

1.3.1The Black Death

1.3.2End of Topic Test - Medieval treatment

1.3.3Grade 9 - Medieval Medicine

2The Medical Renaissance in England

2.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness

2.1.1Scientific Approach & Knowledge

2.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

2.2.1Changing Methods of Treatment

2.2.2Institutions & Technology

2.2.3Changes for Physicians, Surgeons & Hospitals

2.2.4Dissection & Vesalius

2.3Case Studies

2.3.1William Harvey & the Great Plague

2.3.2End of Topic Test - Medical Renaissance in England

2.3.3Grade 9 - The Medical Renaissance

3Medicine in 18th & 19th Century Britain

3.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness

3.1.1Germ Theory

3.1.2Koch & Pasteur's Vaccination

3.1.3Exam-Style Questions - Pasteur & Koch

3.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

3.2.1Improving Public Health

3.2.2Anaesthetics & Antiseptics

3.2.3Physicians, Surgeons & Nurses

3.2.4Exam-Style Questions - Nightingale's Contribution

3.3Case Studies

3.3.1Vaccination & Edward Jenner

3.3.2Fighting Cholera in London, 1854

3.3.3End of Topic Test - 18th & 19th Century Medicine

3.3.4Grade 9 - 18th & 19th Century Medicine

4Medicine in Modern Britain

4.1Modern Understanding of Disease

4.1.1Viruses & Bacteria

4.1.2New Diseases & Treatments in 20th C

4.1.3Diagnosing Disease

4.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

4.2.1Antibiotics

4.2.2New Treatments in the 20th Century

4.2.3New Approaches to Surgery & Prevention

4.2.4Social Changes in the Early 20th Century

4.2.5The NHS

4.2.6The NHS 2

4.3Case Studies

4.3.1Penicillin & Lung Cancer

4.3.2End of Topic Test - Modern Britain

4.3.3Grade 9 - Medicine in Modern Britain

5Treatment in WW1

5.1Medicine in WW1

5.1.1Trench Warfare

5.1.2The Impact of WW1

5.1.3Disease in the Trenches

5.1.4End of Topic Test- Treatment in WW1

5.1.5Grade 9 - Treatment in WW1

5.1.6Exam-Style Questions - Role of War on Medicine

6Themes in Medicine

6.1Themes in Medicine over Time

6.1.1The Role of Individuals

6.1.2Institutions - Government

6.1.3Institutions - The Church

6.1.4Science & Technology

6.1.5Attitudes in Society

6.1.6End of Topic Test -Themes in Medicine

6.1.7Grade 9 - Themes in Medicine

6.1.8Exam-Style Questions - Attitudes to Illness

7Some Extra Context (Not Compulsory for Exam)

7.1Medieval Medicine

7.1.1Islamic Advances in Medieval Medicine

7.1.2End of Topic Test - Extra Content

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