Health and Wellness in the 20th Century

by Birkelbach, Karl

• ISBN13: 9780313382673
• ISBN10: 0313382670
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2019-07-01
• Publisher: GREENWOOD PUBLISHING GROUP

Summary

Health and Wellness in the 20th Century offers a wealth of insights into the real-life evolution and practice of both conventional and alternative health care across the globe during these years of ever-escalating change. It looks at the medical miracles, the moral quandaries, and the people affected by this rapid change. As wide-ranging in its coverage of medicine as in its geographical scope, the book examines so-called Western-medicine and discusses holistic medicine and other practices from different cultures around the globe. Chapters explore surgery and dentistry, women's health and childcare, the advance of technology for medical use, and the establishment of medical institutions. Pressing medical crises such as infectious diseases and warfare are examined, as are controversies of the period such as euthanasia and cigarette smoking, which went from being "the pause that refreshes" to being recognized as a leading cause of cancer. Finally, important historical events are analyzed in light of how they shaped the development and understanding of health care during the century.