Brown, DHL;
Green, DR;
McIlvenna, K;
Shelton, N;
(2020)
The beating heart of the system: the health of postal workers in Victorian London.
Journal of Historical Geography
10.1016/j.jhg.2020.04.001.
(In press).
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Abstract
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.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The beating heart of the system: the health of postal workers in Victorian London |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jhg.2020.04.001 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhg.2020.04.001 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Occupational health, Morbidity, Post Office, Mental health, Epidemiological transition |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10098350 |
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