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Social History of Medicine Advance Access originally published online on October 12, 2007
Social History of Medicine 2007 20(3):483-503; doi:10.1093/shm/hkm072
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for the Social History of Medicine. All rights reserved
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Medical and Demographic History: Inseparable?

Robert Woods*

* Department of Geography, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZT, UK. E-mail: riwoods{at}liv.ac.uk


  Abstract

The case is made for forms of medical history that focus explicitly on sickness, health and life chances; ones that explore the effects of health interventions by examining their impact on mortality risks. Using a series of examples drawn from environmental health, midwifery and obstetric care, the paper illustrates various ways in which long-term trends in health and mortality may be read together. But it also demonstrates how fraught with problems of description and interpretation this process is likely to be. Finally, a plea is made for evidence-based medical history where ‘progress’, ‘outcomes’ and ‘results’ are given privileged positions.

Keywords: health impact assessment; mortality differentials; sickness; public health; midwifery; fetal mortality; maternal mortality; historical demography; evidence-based medical history


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