Public Health: From Ancient Greece to Today - Essay Sample

Introduction

The history of public health is defined through practices of community sanitation, personal hygiene, medical care, and control of infectious diseases that triumphed during the Greco-Roman period. The development of public health in Greece, Rome, England, and the United States is illuminated by Rosen's' contributions in the field. Municipal health administration was a relatively early concept, and occupational health was given due consideration in the early days. Even though we think of the Middle Ages as a period of social regression with little development of science and technology, it was also an age of overwhelming epidemics, with little information regarding disease prevention. Public health administration was organized by municipalities on a permanent, and not an emergency basis, and community hospitals were developed, specifically for the care of patients with infectious diseases.

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How were religion, circulating ideas, points of view on public health, and general beliefs about illness addressed in ancient times? Give a few examples.

According to religion, people were thought to be sick because of evil or sinful deeds. For example, The Holy Bible accounts for the plagues in Egypt as a punishment from God. Leprosy victims were feared as it was believed they were cursed. During Babylonian civilization, a set of rules for medical procedures was developed and physicians were categorized into three main types of healers. This was recorded in the Hamarabi's Code of Laws.

How did the literature (from the text or notes) reflect on events that occurred during this ancient time? For example, technological advances, discoveries, and major developments.

The Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution encouraged invention while Capitalism helped discoveries to thrive as a division of labor in society increased and lead to rural-urban migration. Many people moved to cities in search of better jobs, issues such as the safety of workers, sanitation, and communicable diseases increased significantly.

How did either of the text or notes discuss the way medical records were kept (if applicable)? The Edwin Smith Papyrus, and the Ebers Papyrus were the earliest pharmaceutical list that contained medicine case histories and more than 800 remedies. The herbal medications treated various infections which include; gynecological infections, intestinal infections, eye and skin infections, dentistry and the surgical treatment of tumors. Lack of advanced diagnostic techniques and patient records made it difficult to formulate specific remedies for an individual.

Overall, how is this information relevant to furthering the history of health and medicine today?

Information preserved from the Greco-Roman empire including medical knowledge helped change medicine, especially in anatomy & physiology. This meant more focus was put in measurements and quantitative methods hence new theories, research, and discoveries.

Name three things you found most interesting after reviewing Rosen Chapters 1-3 as well as your module notes. Please give examples.

Trephining was an ancient cranial surgery, which was performed more than 2300 years ago to treat brain injuries, and there is evidence to show people survived the procedure. The industrial revolution caused epidemics due to the overpopulation of cites which was a regression in medical history. The invention of the computer and increased technological capabilities caused rapid advancement in health and medicine because of improved quantitative and qualitative techniques used in research and record keeping.