Article
ID: CBB167112892

The beating heart of the system: The health of postal workers in Victorian London (2020)

unapi
Public health Epidemiological transition (public health) Occupational safety; Occupational health Mental Health 19th century London (England)

In the later decades of the nineteenth century, the United Kingdom experienced a shift in the causes of mortality, from infectious diseases to those more associated with ageing. This epidemiological transition from acute to chronic conditions was accompanied by an increase in longevity and a corresponding increase in morbidity, measured by rising rates of sickness absence. As longevity improved, the period between the onset of ill health and death lengthened. If we are to understand the daily lived experiences of health in different places during the epidemiological transition, it is necessary to explore the complex causes of morbidity rather than just focus on mortality. We argue that other reasons need to be considered alongside age as important influences on the incidence and duration of ill health, including urbanisation, occupational risks and cultural and institutional factors. Using evidence drawn from a sample of pension records of postal workers, we examine a variety of different factors that could have accounted for the changing pattern of morbidity observed in other studies. We conclude that age alone cannot account for the greater incidence of sickness absence and ill health and that other factors relating to the residential and working environment, as well as institutional arrangements for sick pay, need to be taken into account.

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Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB167112892/

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Authors & Contributors
Bertomeu Sánchez, José Ramón
Gregory Wood
Geltner, G.
Frezza, Giulia
Weeda, Claire
Newman, Laura
Journals
Bulletin of the History of Medicine
Physis: Rivista Internazionale di Storia della Scienza
Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences
Humanities and Technology Review
História, Ciências, Saúde---Manguinhos
Environment and History
Publishers
Icaria Editorial
University of Pittsburgh Press
University of Notre Dame Press
University of Minnesota Press
UCL Press
Routledge
Concepts
Public health
Occupational safety; Occupational health
Disease and diseases
Historiography
Cholera
Poverty
People
Snow, John
Mayhew, Henry
Time Periods
19th century
20th century
20th century, early
Modern
Renaissance
Medieval
Places
London (England)
Great Britain
United States
Paris (France)
Syria
Lebanon
Institutions
World Bank
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