Historical Explorations of Modern Epidemiology: Patterns, Populations and Pathologies

Description

This volume explores the history of epidemiology from the mid-twentieth century to the present. Epidemiology has exerted major influence on the way that both infectious and chronic diseases are conceptualized and controlled, and, more generally, on the way that people in modern societies think about health, behavior, longevity, and risk. This collection consists of a series of in-depth analyses of the roots, development, and impact of epidemiological research, illuminating the complex relationship between medical research and data on the one hand, and social and cultural factors on the other. The thematical and geographical scope of the book ranges from indigenous and participant perspectives to the visualization of pandemics, and from Circumpolar North to East Africa. The book identifies significant historical changes and the driving forces behind them, charting forms of science-society interaction that characterize modern epidemiology. Chapter 1 and chapter 4 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com. Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures 1 Introduction: The Past Continuous of Epidemiology What Do We Study When We Study the History of Epidemiology? Historiography of Epidemiology Book Outline Part I Patterns 2 Patterning Tuberculosis: Interwar Tuberculosis Research as a Bridge Between Infectious and Risk Factor Epidemiology From “Sickness Census” to Prevalence Rates From “Socio-Hygienic Experiments” to Community Interventions From Generations to Cohorts Why Tuberculosis Conclusions 3 The Case–Control Method on Trial: The “Bermuda Summit Peace Conference” (1978) The Development of the Case–Control Method The Controversies of the Bermuda Conference The Legacy of the Conference in Epidemiology and Medicine Conclusion 4 The Coexistent Temporalities: Multilayered Ethics in Birth Cohort Studies Introduction The Role of Research Ethics Committees From Implied to Informed Consent Data Protection Keeping the Participants Informed Conclusion Part II Populations 5 The Oxford Nutrition Survey (1941–1950): Its Rise and Fall Under Hugh Sinclair Introduction The Rise of Nutritional Surveys Surveys in Oxford and Beyond The Demise of the Nutrition Institute Conclusion: Sinclair’s Legacy 6 Spotlighted or Hidden in Plain Sight: Consequences of the Post-War Ban on Ethnic Registration in Sweden Ethnicity and Statistics Before 1945 Working Around the Ban—Post-War Research Strategies Who Is Ethnic? Post-War Studies on the Roma The Socio-Medical Gypsy Study Conclusion 7 Risk Factor Epidemiology Viewed from Below: Lay Reception of the North Karelia Project (Finland) in the 1970s and Early 1980s Introduction Risk Factor Epidemiology and Finland Encountering Epidemiological Research Inclusion Criteria: Random Residents vs. Individuals with Medical Needs Standardized Members of a Population vs. Individual Cases Scientific Study on Prevention vs. Help for Present Health Problems Understanding the Response of the Local Residents 8 From Colonial Medicine to Global Health: Epidemiologies of Sexually Transmitted Infections in East and Central Africa Introduction: Epidemiologies and Histories of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV in Africa Production of Medical Knowledge in Africa—Colonial and Post-Colonial Colonial Epidemiologies: Fears and Stereotyping The New Global Epidemiology of STIs and Africa Discovery of AIDS in Africa Clinical Epidemiology vs. Seroepidemiology Seroepidemiology, Political Backlash, and the Pattern II Epidemic Conclusion Part III Pathologies 9 Light Pollution: Auroral Displays, Environmental Carcinogens, and Epidemiological Imaginings of Inuit Cancer Cold, Dark, and Dangerous Solar Storms, Space Physics, and Settler Science The Politics of Pollutants From Light Pollution to Sound Activism 10 Scientized Politics: The Finnish Basic Income Trial as a Quest for Experimental Truth Nudging for Better Living Practical Theories for Behavioral Modification Test, Learn, Adapt: RCT as a Policy Tool The BI Trial as a Quest for Experimental Truth The Scientization of Politics 11 Virus-Imagery: A Short History of Pandemic Mis-Representation, HIV to COVID-19 Introduction Virus Visualization: A Brief Primer The “Face of the Killer”: Visualizing AIDS A Picture of COVID-19 Afterword: History and Epidemiology in the Age of COVID-19 Index