The great war and public health.

Abstract

On 2nd July 2014, close to the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War (WW1), Dr Rosalind Stanwell-Smith gave an interesting and highly captivating talk on the global impact of WW1 on public health practices. Her black lace Edwardian dress and feather hat, together with a patriotic sing-a-long of the WW1 recruiting song 'I'll Make a Man of You', was met with huge success and applause from the audience.After being warmly introduced by RSPH Chief Executive Shirley Cramer, Dr Stanwell-Smith introduced the idea that WW1 should be recognized as the catalyst for change in public health. While the Second World War is said to have been where 'modern' public health started, what was learnt regarding nutrition, infectious diseases and mental health drew on the experiences of both public and military health during WW1.The extent of the recruitment propaganda that littered WW1 is well known; however, the importance this propaganda had on public health is not so well acknowledged. The poor health of many recruits shocked the nation to finally take action and mass publication of advertisements stressed the importance of healthy children - you had to be fit-to-fight in order to be fit-to-win after all. This focus on the health of the child is still echoed and relevant in today's public health.Dr Stanwell-Smith filled her presentation with amusing and fascinating posters from the war that advertised 'floating soap' and water sanitation, nerve tonics for shell-shock, the importance of nursing and attempts to control infectious diseases such as cholera , typhus and syphilis. Previously, there had been little, if any, health promotion on tuberculosis, or on syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections because they were such taboo topics. The significant increase of deaths from infectious diseases on the front line increased awareness and concern back home about the dangers of infection. Taking the initiative, this was grasped upon as an opportunity to take action and cleanse society. Dr Stanwell-Smith took us through more posters and expressed how the bold advertising bombarded the public with pictures of death and sickness. 'Social hygiene' movements were also adopted in many countries. This topical advertising demonstrates the extent of the interest that surrounded health after the war broke out, even if the methods, treatments and knowledge were not fully understood.The war began a transformation in how mental health was perceived, with 80,000 cases of shell-shock being reported and the mental and physical trauma of chemical warfare. …