Why was public health reform an important issue in nineteenth century Britain and what factors impeded
At the turn of the nineteenth century, Britain was enduring a period of rapid change, embodied in the Industrial Revolution. ... Accompanying this economic change was > outdated legislation and political prerogatives in dire need of reform, > to adapt to this evolving economy. The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act was a > turning point in such legislation, seeking to improve the situation with > poverty, with key reformer, Edwin Chadwick, being inspired by the > administrative impetus of the amendment act and the ancillary of > Registrar-General in > 1838 to help with public health. ... This is particularly true in relation to property > policy, which, as will be seen, was an important issue regarding health, > seen as an encroachment on privacy. ... > However, in relation to public health, it was clear that such a > non-interventionist policy could not be championed, particularly when > the state was putting much pressure on the individual to work in the > city. ... With this as indication of the symptoms of the problem, the > death rate represents the actual result; the average age of death for a > mechanic, or labourer, or farmer was 17 in Manchester, 19 in Leeds, 16 > in Bethnal Green, 15 in Liverpool, but 38 in rural Rutland Increasingly > in the medical field, doctors were becoming more aware of the effect of > the environment on the individuals health. ... > > The problems highlighted previously were the main areas of reform in > Chadwicks Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring > Population of Great Britain, published in 1842. However, he looked at > the doctors conclusions in reverse, believing that sickness caused > poverty and, in light of the Poor Law Reform (intended to alleviate the > amount of people seeking help) his impetus was such to have a positive > effect on the people and economically. ... the Public Health > enquiries of 1839, the Royal Commissions reports in 1844 and 1845, the > Public Health Act of 1848 etc. ... An excellent example of the > aims of the Public Health reform of nineteenth century was that of the > Chadwick report (1842), and furthermore embodies the problems that many > reformers faced.