Occupational Health Influences Blog

Review a historic situation where our understanding of disease and health practices grew out of occupational health concerns. Choose your own topic, or select one from the learning activities readings, and be sure to include original research or a review of the original research that led to the discovery of negative health outcomes due to the environment’s influences.

Here are some topics which might be of interest, which are examples of how occupational health has led to a greater understanding of disease and better health practices:

• Milk Maids (cow pox and Edward Jenner)
• Waterbury Clock Company (the Radon/Radium Girls)
• Marine Hospital Service (Public Health Service)
• Edwin Chadwick (sanitation)
• Louis Pasteur (greatly improved pre- and post-work conditions)
• Upton Sinclair (Meat Inspection Act [1906] – came out of The Jungle)
• World History Project – Public Health Timeline – https://worldhistoryproject.org/topics/public-health (Links to an external site.)

Your blog post should be 350 words in length with a minimum of two references required. Responses are encouraged but not required.

Answer  preview

Public health hazards cause deterioration and suffering affecting specific groups’ wellbeing in societies. However, they also present opportunities for growth and discovery in research. Such was the case of vaccination against smallpox in 1796 as developed by Edward Jenner. The disease has caused widespread health decline, which led to disfigurement and, in some cases, death. According to Esparza, Nitsche & Damaso (2018), smallpox was highly prevalent in Britain and other European states in the 1700s, taking years for a community to recover from the ailment fully. The high contagiousness of smallpox made it a significant public health concern in all affected districts.

 

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