Abstract
The concept of preventive health care is not modern. Before the 20th-century biomedical revolution, important advances had been made in the understanding and prevention of infectious diseases and nutritional deficiency. Long before the advent of scientific investigation into disease processes, men were explaining disease and attempting to avoid illness. In surveying historical efforts to prevent communicable diseases and nutritional deficiency diseases three categories of prevention are apparent; (1) individual control over personal health through adherence to dietary and hygiene codes; (2) social control over health by means of isolating diseased individuals or protecting large groups of people from environmental dangers; (3) application of increased scientific understanding of disease.
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© 1988 Plenum Publishing Corporation
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Becker, D.M. (1988). History of Preventive Medicine. In: Becker, D.M., Gardner, L.B. (eds) Prevention in Clinical Practice. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5356-0_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5356-0_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
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