Ch. 6 Annotations

Berridge, Virginia. Public Health: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, Oxford,

2016.

Berridge discusses the changes occurring from the 19^th century through the 20^th century regarding politics, establishments, and changing social concerns and needs on the global level. Chapter 6 differs from the rest by focusing on public health issues on a global level rather than looking at national and local efforts to address public health concerns. Throughout the chapter Berridge discusses the importance of recognizing how much more was able to get accomplished when programs and interventions were initiated internationally and by organizations such as the League of Nations. It is mentioned how effective strategies implemented by individual countries were adopted and implemented internationally within developing countries. Developing countries faced the biggest issues when looked at on a global level because their idea of public health was different than that of developed countries, this was another key point made by Berridge.

            The overall purpose of this chapter was to shine light on the changes public health underwent on an international level to understand that changes to do not only occur with smaller organizations and services. It is because of colonization that research began on certain diseases and strategies were initiated to prevent pandemics. International public health also faced criticism during the 19^th century for being motivated by protecting European settlers and military troops in foreign lands rather than improving the health of indigenous individuals. This was interesting but not very surprising as it was normal for the time period to be concerned with oneself along with racial superiority. It was interesting to discover how much supervision there has been over marketing, implementation, and other aspects influencing public health efforts by the League of Nations as well as how much effort was actually put in to help the developing countries.