Halifax cholera : an anthropological and geographical analysis of an epidemic's social determinants of health

Abstract

An increased awareness of the social determinants of health and their interdisciplinary applications has led to a wealth of new research in the last two decades. Anthropologists are using these constantly evolving determinants to explore the human dynamics of healthcare as it relates to cultures and communities. Utilization of the social determinants of health helps guide better decision-making when approaching health crises. This in turn, better accommodates cultural perceptions and concerns. Analyzing past epidemics in light of these facets is one way to examine recurring historical themes necessitating attention today. This research covers an historic epidemic through social determinant frameworks for the purpose of highlighting similarities among human reactions during an epidemic. Variables such as immigration, poverty, gender, and spatial distributions are addressed in the investigation of a cholera epidemic in 1834 Halifax. The goal is to tie in a broad historical narrative that depicts a generalized state of healthcare in nineteenth-century Halifax before developing contemporary medical and anthropological frameworks to which it can applied in scrutinizing responsible organizations and institutions, and their community impacts. Quantitative evidence further develops a physical representation of the 1834 landscape to discuss topographical factors potentially contributing to the epidemic's outcome. A final discussion compares the nineteenth-century realities to the contemporary COVID-19 epidemic, contrasting the human approaches taken in managing an outbreak.