History of Public Health through the ages 1800-2012

1. Comparing Public Health through
the ages
1800-2012
BTEC Nationals Health Studies

2. 1800 Georgian Era
• Life expectancy - 37 for females and middle 40’s for males
• Child mortality – there was a 50/50 chance of survival for both
mother and baby during the birth procedure
• Access to health care – medicines were still being developed at this stage
and any
access to health care had to be paid for by all
• Medicines and vaccinations available – medicines were not developed at
this stage at most of their medications included ingredients such as
mercury, arsenic, iron and phosphorous they also used leeches.
• Housing conditions – the conditions were very poor in this era, houses
where just like one big room with possibly a bathroom if they were lucky.
Whole family had to sleep together and they where lucky if they had
running water into their house for washing.
• Main killers, diseases – tuberculosis, malnutrition, cholera, smallpox and
typhus.

3. 1850 Victorian Era
Life Expectancy
• Males: 38.3
• Females 35
Child Mortality
• 15.5%
Access to healthcare
• Healthcare was limited unless people had the funds resulting in life expectancy
being so low.
Medicines/Vaccinations available
• Mercury, Arsenic, iron and phosphorous, laxatives and leeches.
Housing conditions
• Overcrowding, water was contaminated, sewerage was running down the
streets.
Main Killer-Diseases
• Plague, cholera, typhus, smallpox and diphtheria
• By Lauren, Stephanie & Jade

4. Victorian era-1900
• Life expectancy for men and women was 45 years of age.
• Child mortality was; 1 in 7 children died at the age of 5
• There was a medical revolution; x-rays, ultraviolet light
treatment and eye medical care.
• Medicines and vaccinations that were available were
penicillin, and there was an introduction to antiseptic and
anaesthesia being used in surgery.
• Antibiotics and public funding by the NHS was still 40 years
away.
• The housing conditions was poor. There was slum
housing, over crowding, a shortage in housing, sanitation was
very poor and some children lived on the streets.
• Some of the main killers and diseases of the 1900s was
influenza, smallpox, typhus, TB, cholera and gang related
injuries.

5. 1950- Post War Era
Life Expectancy
• Things continued to improve in Britain in the early 20th century.
• In particular death in childhood became far less common and by the early 1930s life expectancy for a man at
birth was about 60. By the 1950s it had risen to about 65.
• Things improved more slowly in the late 20th century but by 1971 life expectancy for a man in Britain was 68.
For a woman it was 72.
Child Mortality
• 3% of children die before their first birthday
Access to health care
• In Britain the health of ordinary people greatly improved when the NHS was founded in 1948
Medicines/Vaccinations available
• By the 1930s antibiotics and penicillin was discovered and was widely used.
• In 1944 another antibiotic was developed called streptomycin which was used by medical professions to treat
tuberculosis.
Housing Conditions
• Housing was poor in the 1950s
• The working class began to have bathrooms
• Gas was used, which made it more easier to het water for washing
• Running hot water and bathrooms meant that it was more easier to keep clean
Main Killer Diseases
• There was a real association between carcinoma of the lung and smoking and that smoking was a factor and an
important one in the production of carcinoma in the lung
• Tuberculosis

6. 2012 (Modern Era)
• Life expectancy in Northern Ireland:
▫ Males live to 76.3
▫ Females live to 81.2
• Child mortality- The number of boys and girls under 5 who die annually has dropped from 12
million in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2012
• Access to health care: Free health care for all and everyone has access to their own GP. Pregnant
women have access to their own midwife.
• Medicines- there is a wide range of medications available for those needed. There is also free
vaccinations when necessary.
• Housing conditions- there are better housing conditions in the modern era compared to the later
20th century. Houses are more up to date with heating and electrical appliances.
• Main killers – disease:
▫ Cancer
▫ Ischaemic heart disease
▫ Stroke