The industrial revolution and the origins of modern sanitation
The industrial revolution was necessary to trigger investments in sanitary infrastructures, but not sufficient: better medicine and politics were essential.
Research note: Mental health in Germany ca. 1900
This post focuses on the development of mental health care in Germany around the turn of the 19th century.
Research note: the rise of public health
This post focuses on scientific and social factors to explain the rise of public health as a state priority during the 19th century.
Smallpox vaccination in 19th-century Finland: lessons from a vaccine mandate
In historical Finland, the vaccination law succeeded in improving smallpox vaccine uptake despite high hesitancy among the public.
Tea Drinking Curbed Mortality Rates in England
The introduction of tea in 18th century England resulted in an increase in consumption of boiled water, thereby reducing mortality rates.
The 1918 flu pandemic left Spain a more unequal country
Pandemics are often considered “big levelers” events. We show that the Spanish Flu, one of the deadliest pandemics in history, doesn’t fit this narrative in Spain, which became more unequal.
The trend of emotional well-being in Nineteenth-century Britain
According to the language used in political pamphlets, the emotional well-being of British men neither increased nor decreased between 1800 and 1900, despite economic growth and material progress.
The drivers of institutionalization among the elderly in Europe
Will future increases in life expectancy improve life quality? If we consider the elderly, this is unclear, especially among permanently institutionalized individuals, whose quality of life is often worse.
The Spanish hospital system during the Franco dictatorship
The creation of the Spanish public hospital system during Franco’s dictatorship was marked by collaboration and competition with the private sector, due to limited funding and political struggles among elites.
The virtual eradication of the plague. An unsolved riddle of health progress
Both plague and smallpox used to exert a heavy death toll on society. We eradicated smallpox with a vaccine, but plague disappeared from most of human society for unknown reasons.
