Health n the people AQA

• Period covered by the thematic study

  c1000 to the present day
• This thematic study explores how medicine and public health developed in Britain over a thousand years. It focuses on key individuals, discoveries, and developments, as well as the broader social, political, and technological contexts.
• The Influence of the Church

  • Dominated medical education and controlled hospitals
  • Promoted Galen's ideas which were compatible with Christian teachings
• The Theory of the Four Humours

  • Developed by Hippocrates and Galen
  • Illness was believed to be caused by an imbalance of blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile
• Common Treatments


  • Bloodletting
  • Purging
  • Herbal remedies
  • Religious treatments like prayer and pilgrimage
• Medical Practitioners


  • Physicians: university-trained, expensive
  • Barber-surgeons: performed minor surgeries
  • Apothecaries: sold medicines
  • Wise women and local healers: provided accessible care
• Living Conditions


  • Poor sanitation, crowded living spaces, contaminated water
• The Black Death (1348-49)

  • Bubonic plague, killed a third of Europe's population
  • Led to some public health measures like quarantine, but largely ineffective
• Andreas Vesalius


  • Published "De humani corporis fabrica", corrected Galen's anatomical errors
• Ambroise Paré


  • Improved surgical techniques, used ligatures instead of cauterization
• William Harvey


  • Discovered the circulation of blood, challenged Galen's ideas
• Printing Press


  Facilitated the spread of new ideas and medical knowledge
• Dissection


  Became more common, enhancing anatomical knowledge
• Edward Jenner


  • Developed smallpox vaccine using cowpox
• Louis Pasteur


  • Proposed germ theory, leading to better understanding of disease causation
• Robert Koch


  • Identified specific bacteria causing diseases
• James Simpson


  • Discovered chloroform as an anesthetic
• Joseph Lister


  • Introduced antiseptics in surgery, reducing infections
• 1848 Public Health Act


  Established local boards of health, focused on sanitation
• 1875 Public Health Act


  Compulsory measures for sanitation, clean water, and housing
• Edwin Chadwick


  • Reported on the sanitary conditions of the laboring population
• John Snow


  • Linked cholera to contaminated water, promoting the importance of clean water
• Alexander Fleming


  • Discovered penicillin
• Medical Imaging


  1. rays, MRI scans, CT scans
• Watson and Crick


  • Discovered the structure of DNA
• The National Health Service (NHS)

  • Founded in 1948 to provide free healthcare at the point of use
  • Significant improvements in public health, increased access to medical care
• Public Health Challenges


  • Lifestyle Diseases: heart disease, diabetes, cancer
  • Epidemics and Pandemics: HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, responses and management strategies
  • Government Role: health campaigns, smoking bans, vaccination programs
• Key Themes


  • Continuity and Change
  • Cause and Consequence
  • Significance
  • Diversity
  • Historical Context