Invitation to a conference ‘The history of health and disease in Central and Eastern Europe since 1945’

International conference

“The history of health and disease
in Central and Eastern Europe since 1945″

Warsaw, 14-15 October 2015

Institute of National Remembrance and Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences invite you to participate in the international conference „The history of health and disease in Central and Eastern Europe since 1945”, which will take place in Warsaw on 14–15 October 2015.

The material destruction, difficult sanitary conditions, poverty, as well as infectious disease epidemics collecting a heavy toll are important phenomena, often overlooked in the historiography, describing the post-war reality of Eastern Europe.
A new political order, introduced in this part of the continent, also covers the issue of health care. Some of the basic questions to be discussed during the scheduled conference are: to what extent, however, was the theme of universal, free access to health care put into practice in the second half of the twentieth century, what problems were encountered while implementing the reforms of the health care system by the end of the 80s, and how they were perceived by ordinary people.

The history of health and disease constitutes a relatively new field of historical research and it focuses, inter alia, on issues such as health policy of the state (the idea of public health), living conditions, and public health awareness. Issues related to health and disease refer to the particularly delicate sphere between the private and the public life. Therefore, research on the historical circumstances refers to a number of significant problems both in the field of social policy as well as within the scope of everyday life and mentality.

The conference will be held in Polish and English (with simultaneous translation).

Additional information – Ewelina Szpak: european.healthhistory@gmail.com