Question

Between the 1850’s and 1930’s, physicians gained authority and status. What is one condition or event that led to this?

Answer 1

In 1850, the federal government of United States published the mortality stats of US population on the basis of total registered death result of which the very first National disease monitoring movement was conducted. Following to this, from the year 1878 to 1902, the bicameral legislature of the federal government gave permission to collect the morbidity reports on cholera, smallpox, plague, and yellow fever so that it can be utilized for isolation methods for the patients, to release funds for collecting and publicizing these stats and information, spread public awareness and stretching their influence and control authority by ordering weekly reports from the states and municipality. After this event, from the year 1912 the cycle of annual summary of The Notifiable Diseases which included just 10 diseases and 19 states expanded to all states highlighting 29 major diseases by the end of 1928.

Apart form the above mentioned events, Lemuel Shattuck, a Boston politician published a report of the Sanitary Commission of Massachusetts, and determined a number of necessary components that should be implemented to come up with a modern public health infrastructure on local and state levels. From 1889 to 1900, around 40 states of America developed respective state health departments which spread awareness in the general public about sanitation and microbial sciences. Different public health interventions by the states awareness programs to educate population about the spread of STIs, controlling methods, environment health, child health necessities and many more happened a lot between 1900 to 1930s.

In short, people were now being aware about the different health conditions and getting full support from the government by the spread of public healthcare. As a result to this, a physician become a more public and popular figure and physicians gained authority and status.