Public health history in Britain

In this video we explore a little public health history in the context of Great Britain.

The scope of public health is vast and widening all the time (Detels, 2009). Organised community efforts to promote health and prevent disease go back to ancient times.

Throughout history, medicine and public health have evolved often according to what was needed in times of public health crises (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2015). Even looking at religious text we can see references to public health in the Bible and the Quran, encouraging people to practise good hygiene and sanitation and to take responsibility for their health.