The History of Health and Health Education/Promotion

The Middle Ages was considered the cause of the plague, the Black Death. The death toll was a great amount, having an amount of about 5,000 to 10,000 people in a single day. The Middle Ages had forms of diseases such as smallpox, diphtheria, influenza, tuberculosis, measles and some others.

The Renaissance meaning the "rebirth", at this time disease and the plague were still taking over in concerning health issues. Public Health was only a practiced activity which received very little or any direct benefits. Renaissance was a time of exploring and expanding theories.

The Age of Enlightenment was a time of revolution and growing cities. During this time the American revolution was taking place, the plague was still a problem. At this time the belief of diseases was thought to be caused by filth, which was considered miasmas theory, being herbs and incense that were believed to decontaminate the air.

In the 1700s the primary way of controlling disease was to quarantine and because of the slave trade, this all attracted diseases such as yaws, yellow fever, and malaria which were common in the southern states. For this time life expectancy was 28.15 years.

In the 1800s little changed to improve the public's health. Very important and extraordinary results in advanced biology and bacteriology happened during this time. During 1800 through 1850 health status had improved by a small amount, the diseases were common except for some that had started to reach high levels. Life expectancy has also decreased in cities

In this time the period was knowns as the reform phase of public health, the first clinic to treat diseases was established during this time. During the 1920s it was still a relatively quiet time for public health as well, the need for much health education/promotion. Then during the 20th-century tension came up between preventive medicine and curative medicine began to appear in the United States.

In 1930 during World War II medical services were funded by relatives and self-funded as well as voluntary agencies and religious organizations. At this time private resources could not always be provided either. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established many programs to help the New Deal which were used as public health efforts. This helped establish The Social Security Act in 1935 to be able to solve social issues, including health. Then in 1946, the Communicable Disease Center was established and then congress passes the National Hospital Survey and Construction Act.

2010 -- The national prevention and public health and health promotion council were established. A fund was created for public health as well as a grant program to support community-based prevention and wellness services. Most importantly eliminate the cost for tobacco counseling and a prescription for pregnant women in Medicaid and Medicare.
2011 -- Prevention and Public Health fund received up to $750 million, as well as school-based health centers received $50 million as well. Helped small employers with grants to establish wellness programs, and by this time chain restaurants and vending machines were required to disclose nutritional facts.
2012 -- Prevention and Public Health received up to $1 billion dollars, and school-based health centers up to $50 million as well.

2013 --Prevention and Public Health funds increase up to $1.25 billion and school-based health centers received $50 million.
2014 --Employers were to offer employees rewards towards premium discounts, waivers of cost-sharing, or other benefits for wellness programs and they meet health-related standards. Lastly, Prevention and Public Health Funds received up to $1.5 billion and School-based health centers up to $50 million.
2015 and Beyond -- Prevention and Public Health fund received $1.25 billion and school-based health center $50 million.