Reforma dos costumes: elite médica, progresso e o combate às más condições de saúde no Brasil do século XIX / Change of habits: medical elite, progress and fight against poor health conditions in Brazil in the XIXth century

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2008

RESUMO

Until the Enlightenment, due to the large influence of religion in peoples lives, the great limitations of medical knowledge and the absence of a decent public health service, the success of the healing processes was mainly conceived as Holy Grace, presented to those who were found worthy of it. Thus people were forced to rely on their own luck when threatened by diseases. From then on, with the throttle in science, which had already been encouraged ever since the Renaissance, the medical elite began to reformulate the basis of medicine. Meanwhile, it began to show a possibility of effective treatment for health problems, including preventive medicine through by combining its techniques along with governmental action. Hence it was mobilized so that on one hand it could develop its resources against diseases with new discoveries while on the other hand elaborating propositions to improve public health conditions, since it became clear that this was a requirement for the advancements in society and a human necessity. In Brazil, the medical elite had its major influence during the XIX century, in synchrony with the reformulating of its knowledge, the same went on in Europe enforced by Enlightenment ideals, particularly that of progress, working its way to change the decadent sanitary system of the country. Hence, following a European tendency, it struggled to promote the institutionalizing of medicine, creating research institutions and means to spread knowledge, to defend its corporative interests and fight the cause of health problems among the general public, including the slaves. Among which special focus was dedicated to those that could be overcome by the change of habits, in terms of city prospects, as well as its inhabitants. With this in mind, physicians who were part of the elite in their field of work in Brazil defended government intervention within social aspects to impose habits condescend with the hygienic precepts of the population, as well as the need of making health an object of public interest, accordingly to what had been happening in Europe since the Enlightenment, which, as a result, little by little approximated its knowledge to State power. Thus it was accomplished through this approximation and struggle destined to promote change in the habits which were prejudicial to health, having thus been converted in Brazilian society in one of its main reforming agents since the 19th century.

ASSUNTO(S)

medicine and public health medicina e saúde pública progress medical elite elite médica progresso ilustração enlightenment

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