Question: What perspective does Emily Abel claim is missing from recent public health history? How do you think this omission might affect our views of the past?

Expert answer

Emily Abel argues that the perspective of patients is missing from recent public health history. She contends that patients responded to New York City's tuberculosis program in various ways, and that their voices should be heard in order to better understand the program's impact. Abel's argument contributes to a growing body of literature on the social and cultural dimensions of tuberculosis.

Ming-Jung Ho's article provides a review of the literature on the sociocultural aspects of tuberculosis. He discusses how tuberculosis has been understood in different cultures, and how this understanding has changed over time. He also describes a case study of immigrant tuberculosis in the United States. Ho's article highlights the importance of considering the sociocultural dimensions of disease when developing public health policy.

The perspective of patients is important because it can provide insights into how public health policies are actually implemented and experienced by the people they are meant to help. By omitting the patient's perspective, we may be missing important information about past public health programs. This omission could lead to inaccurate or incomplete views of the past, and it may hinder our ability to develop effective public health policies in the future.

The sociocultural dimensions of tuberculosis are important because they help us to understand how the disease is experienced by different people in different cultures. Tuberculosis is not just a medical condition; it also has social and cultural meaning. By understanding these meanings, we can develop more effective public health policies that take into account the needs of all members of society.