An Introduction to 19th-century Public Health in Britain

Medicine Through Time – Nightingale and Healthcare in Britain, 1837-1901

In this course, Dr Jonathan Memel (Bishop Grosseteste University) explores the career of Florence Nightingale in the context of British healthcare and nursing during the 19th century. In the first module, we provide an introduction to public health in 19th-century Britain. In the second module, we turn to look at the connection between urbanisation and public health in Britain, focusing specifically upon the rise of written accounts reflecting upon this rapidly changing environment. In the third module, we then shift focus to the prevalent beliefs and preventative methods practiced by this increasingly urbanised British society. In the fourth module, we change direction and take a look at health in the home, focusing on the importance of domestic settings for the administration of medical treatments, especially among the lower classes and for less serious illnesses. Finally, in the fifth module, we look at the developments that took place in nursing during the 19th century, giving particular attention to the life and career of Florence Nightingale.

An Introduction to 19th-century Public Health in Britain

In this lecture, we provide an introduction to public health in 19th-century Britain, focusing in particular on: (i) public health in the 21st century in relation to the covid-19 pandemic and how this can help us to understand public health in 19th-century Britain; (ii) medical innovation in the 19th century, including the emergence of germ theory; and (iii) the development of civic infrastructures to improve upon public methods of disease prevention and the efforts made to improve disease prevention in the home.