Social medicine

The field of Social Medicine seeks to: (1) understand how social and economic conditions impact health, disease and the practice of medicine and (2) foster conditions in which this understanding can lead to a healthier society.

This type of study began formally in the early 1800's. The Industrial Revolution and the subsequent increase in poverty and disease among workers raised concerns about the effect of social processes on the health of the poor.

Prominent figures in the history of social medicine include Rudolf Virchow, Salvador Allende, and more recently Paul Farmer and Jim Kim.