Silent Victories

The History and Practice of Public Health in Twentieth-Century America

Edited by John W. Ward and Christian Warren

-A study of the ten most important public health achievements in the US in the 20th century -Takes a unique approach to the history of public health in America - each topic is discussed by both a scientist in the field and a medical historian or social scientist. -Chapters are authored by leaders in each of the fields discussed

Silent Victories

The History and Practice of Public Health in Twentieth-Century America

Edited by John W. Ward and Christian Warren

Description

Americans' health improved dramatically over the twentieth century. Public health programs for disease and injury prevention were responsible for much of this advance. Over the century, America's public health system grew dramatically, employing science and political authority in response to an increasing array of health problems. As the disease burden of the old scourges of infection, perinatal mortality, and dietary deficiencies began to lift, public health's mandate expanded to take on new health threats, such as those resulting from a changing workplace, the rise of the automobile, and chronic and complex conditions caused by smoking, diet and other lifestyle and environmental factors. Public health measures almost always occur on contested ground; accordingly, controversies and recriminations over past failures often persist. In contrast, public health's many successes, even the imperfect ones, become part of the fabric of everyday life, a fact already apparent early in the last century, when C.E.A. Winslow reminded his peers that the lives saved and healthy years extended were the "silent victories" of public health. In its exploration of ten major public health issues addressed in the 20th century, Silent Victories takes a unique approach: for each issue, leading scientists in the field trace the discoveries, practices and programs that reduced morbidity and mortality from disease and injury, and an accompanying chapter by a historian or social scientist highlights key moments or conflicts that shaped public health action on that issue. The book concludes with a look toward the challenges public health must face in the future. Silent Victories reveals the lessons of history in a format designed to appeal to students, health professionals and the public seeking to understand how public health advanced the country's health in the 20th century, and the challenges to protecting health in the future.

Silent Victories

The History and Practice of Public Health in Twentieth-Century America

Edited by John W. Ward and Christian Warren

Section 1--Control of Infectious Diseases.
1. Control of Infectious Diseases--A 20th Century Public Health Achievement, Stephen Ostroff, Peter Drotman, Alexandra M. Levitt
2. Advances in Food Safety to Prevention Foodborne Diseases in the United States, Robert V. Tauxe, Emilio J. Esteban
3. A Brief Romance with Magic Bullets: Rene' Dubos at the Dawn of the Antibiotic Era, Jill E. Cooper
Section 2--Control of Disease Through Vaccination.
4. A Shot at Protection: Immunizations Against Infectious Disease, Walter Orenstein, Alan R. Hinman
5. Polio Can Be Conquered: Science and Health Propaganda in the United States from Polio Polly to Jonas Salk, Naomi Rogers
Section 3--Maternal and Infant Health.
6. Safe Mothers, Healthy Babies: Reproductive Health in the 20th Century, Milton Kotelchuck
7. Pioneering Efforts to Decrease Infant and Maternal Mortality, Jacqueline H. Wolf
Section 4--Nutrition.
8. The Impact of Improved Nutrition on Disease Prevention, Richard D. Semba
9. The More Things Change, ...: A Historical Perspective on the Debate over Vitamin Advertising in the United States, Rima D. Apple
Section 5--Occupational Health.
10. Safer, Healthier Worker: Advances in Occupational Disease and Injury Prevention, Phillip Landrigan, Anthony Robbins
11. A Prejudice that May Cloud the Mentality: The Making of Objectivity in Early Twentieth-Century Occupational Health (A study of the Progressive Era origins of occupational medicine), Christopher Sellers
Section 6--Family Planning.
12. Family Planning: A Century of Change, Jacqueline E. Darroch
13. Teaching Birth Control on Tobacco Road and Mill Village Alley: Race, Class, and Birth Control in Public Health, Johanna Schoen
Section 7--Oral and Dental Health: Fluoridation.
14. Changing the Face of America: Water Fluoridation and Oral Health, Brian A. Burt, Scott L. Tomar
15. The Task is a Political One: The Promotion of Fluoridation, Gretchen Ann Reilly
Section 8--Vehicular Safety.
16. Drivers, Wheels and Roads: Motor Vehicle Safety in the 20th Century, David Sleet, Ann Dellinger, Bruce Jones
17. The Nut Behind the Wheel: Shifting Responsibilities for Traffic Safety Since 1895, Daniel M. Albert
Section 9--Cardiovascular Disease.
18. Heart Disease and Stroke Mortality in the 20th Century, Kurt Greenlund, Wayne H. Giles, Nora L. Keenan, Ann Marie Malarcher, Zhi Jie Zheng, Michele L. Casper, Gregory W. Heath, Janet B. Croft
19. Dietary Policy, Controversy and Proof: Doing Something Versus Waiting for the Definitive Evidence, Karin Garrety
Section 10--Tobacco and Disease Prevention.
20. Thank You for Not Smoking: The Public Health Response to Tobacco Related Mortality in the United States, Michael Eriksen, Lawrence Green, Corinne Husten, Linda Pederson, Terry Pechacek
21. The First Surgeon Generals Report on Tobacco: Science and the State in the New Age of Chronic Disease, Allen M. Brandt
Section 11--Concluding Chapter.
22. Public Health at the Dawn of the 21st Century, Jeffrey P. Koplan, Stephen B. Thacker

Silent Victories

The History and Practice of Public Health in Twentieth-Century America

Edited by John W. Ward and Christian Warren

Reviews and Awards

"A summary of America's foremost public health successes as summarzied by prominent scientists and historians. To this end, the book succeeds admirably."--Doody's

"John Ward and Christian Warren and their 42 contributors have produced a very good book about the history and practice of public health in the United States with an unusual and insightful approach...the book provides well-documented content and context in a useful way and with an enjoyable presentation. Each area is well-worth reading."--Inquiry