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Year 10
AQA

Improvements in public health in the 19th century

I can evaluate how and why the government's approach to public health changed during the 19th century.

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New
New
Year 10
AQA

Improvements in public health in the 19th century

I can evaluate how and why the government's approach to public health changed during the 19th century.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Overcrowding, poor waste disposal and poor access to food and water were major issues in industrial cities.
  2. Successive governments took little action due to laissez-faire attitudes.
  3. Edwin Chadwick revealed the impact of poor public health on industrial workers.
  4. Public Health Acts were introduced in 1848 and 1875.
  5. The extension of the vote encouraged governments to make public health reforms.

Keywords

  • Public health - actions and systems intended to prevent disease and maintain good health within communities

  • Adulterated - foods which have been made weaker or worse in quality, especially by having something added to them

  • Laissez-faire - the belief that governments should not interfere in people’s daily lives

Common misconception

The government fully implemented Edwin Chadwick's recommendations.

Chadwick's recommendations were included in the 1848 Public Health Act but were not compulsory, so many local authorities ignored them.


To help you plan your year 10 history lesson on: Improvements in public health in the 19th century, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Ask pupils to identify other examples of public health reform in the 19th century (i.e. vaccination campaigns). Then ask pupils to discuss why it made such a big difference when governments supported public health reforms. You may prompt pupils to consider costs and willingness.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Write the missing word. Water is described as if it becomes dirty or harmful to people’s health.

Correct Answer: contaminated

Q2.
John Snow investigated the spread of which disease in London?

Correct answer: cholera
plague
smallpox
typhoid

Q3.
How many people died in the cholera epidemic of 1848-49 in Britain?

Correct Answer: 50 000, 50,000, 50000, 50 thousand, fifty thousand

Q4.
In 1854, which area of London did John Snow conduct his investigations around?

Correct answer: Broad Street, Soho
Downing Street, Westminster
Old Kent Road, Southwark

Q5.
Write the missing word. John Snow's investigations proved that did not spread disease.

Correct Answer: miasma

Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.

1 - Black Death
2 - Great Plague
3 - smallpox vaccine developed
4 - cholera arrives in Britain
5 - new sewage system built by Joseph Bazalgette in London
6 - no more cholera epidemics in London

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Write the missing word. Foods are referred to as if they have been made weaker or worse in quality, especially by having something added to them.

Correct Answer: adulterated

Q2.
Who published a report in 1842 on the conditions industrial workers lived in?

Correct Answer: Edwin Chadwick

Q3.
What type of houses were often built in cities for industrial workers?

Correct answer: back-to-backs
cottages
huts
semi-detached houses

Q4.
In which years were Public Health Acts passed in Britain?

1807
1833
Correct answer: 1848
1866
Correct answer: 1875

Q5.
Why was the 1848 Public Health Act less effective than Edwin Chadwick may have hoped?

it rejected his calls for improved water supplies and sewage systems
it claimed that the government had no responsibility for public health
Correct answer: it was not compulsory so many local authorities ignored it

Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.

1 - cholera epidemics hit Britain for the first time
2 - Edwin Chadwick investigates the living conditions of industrial workers
3 - 1848 Public Health Act
4 - Germ Theory published
5 - vote extended to many industrial workers for the first time
6 - 1875 Public Health Act

Additional material

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