Call for Medics to Participate in Oral History Interviews for Mid-Twentieth Century Poliomyelitis Research Project
The
following post is by Stephen Bance, a medical historian and Irish Research
Council Postgraduate Scholar at the Centre for the History of Medicine in
Ireland, the School of History and Archives in University College Dublin.
Stephen has undertaken a PhD project which examines the history of
poliomyelitis in Ireland during the mid-twentieth century.
 |
| Dr Christopher Joseph McSweeney, Medical Superintendent of Cork Street Fever Hospital (1934-1953) and prominent physician in the fight against poliomyelitis in Ireland (CSFH/3/1/1/10) |
In the mid-twentieth century poliomyelitis
was feared throughout society; it targeted mainly children and left an
indelible impression upon individuals and communities alike. My PhD project
focuses on the social and cultural impact of the disease, by charting the
demography of poliomyelitis, the public health response to it and the resonance
that it had in Irish society. My hope is that this research will broaden our
understanding of the social and cultural experiences of poliomyelitis in
Ireland. The main output for this project will be a PhD thesis, sections of
which may be used in future academic publications such as journal articles and
a book.
 |
Section of the Annual Report of Dublin Fever Hospital Board,
1956, which provided statistics regarding poliomyelitis
(CSFH/1/2/17)
|
As part of the project, I am
hoping to identify doctors,
nurses and medical students at the time who were actively involved in the
health response to poliomyelitis in Ireland and are willing to participate in an ‘oral history’ interview. In particular, I would like to
contact those involved in orthopaedics, physiotherapy, vaccination programmes,
fever hospitals or the administrative public health response to the disease. If
anybody is interested in participating in the project or would like to know
more about it, I would be delighted to hear from them. My contact details are below.
For
further information, please contact:
Stephen
Bance
Centre
for the History of Medicine in Ireland,
UCD
School of History and Archives,
University
College Dublin,
Belfield,
Dublin 4
E-mail
Stephen.bance@ucdconnect.ie