The Role of Attitudes in Society in Medical Change, c1250-Present - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

10 original exam-style questions - 4 pages of questions with a full mark scheme - free printable PDF.

Download PDF Jump to mark scheme (page 5)The Role of Attitudes in Society in Medical Change, c1250-Present revision guide

This topic is chapter 5 of GCSE History: Medicine in Britain, c1250-present Practice Book 2.

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1.12 The Role of Attitudes in Society in Medical Change, c1250-Present

EDEXCEL 1HI0 · about 50 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Write in full sentences for Questions 13, 14 and 15. You are advised to spend about 65 minutes on this pack.

Name the medieval institution whose influence often discouraged dissection and direct investigation of the human body before the Medical Renaissance.

(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)

Give the year Edward Jenner first tested his smallpox vaccine using material from cowpox.

(Total for Question 2 is 1 mark)

Name the British nurse whose work during the Crimean War and afterwards led to wide public debate and eventual reform in army nursing and hospital hygiene.

(Total for Question 3 is 1 mark)

Give the name of the surgical instrument innovation associated with battlefield casualty care in the First World War that reflected changing professional attitudes to mobility and speed of treatment.

(Total for Question 4 is 1 mark)

State two reasons why some people in the 16th and 17th centuries resisted new anatomical ideas such as those of Vesalius and Harvey.

(Total for Question 5 is 2 marks)

State two reasons why some surgeons and doctors resisted Joseph Lister's antiseptic methods in the late 1860s.

(Total for Question 6 is 2 marks)

Name the scientist whose experiments in the late 19th century established that particular microbes caused specific diseases, strengthening the scientific basis for antiseptic and later aseptic techniques.

(Total for Question 7 is 1 mark)

State two ways in which Victorian laissez-faire attitudes delayed government action on public health before the late 19th century.

(Total for Question 8 is 2 marks)

Explain why social and cultural attitudes were important in shaping the reception of Jennerian vaccination and the later campaign for compulsory vaccination in Britain.

You may use the following in your answer:
- fears about vaccine safety and religious objections
- distrust of rapid government interference in private life

You must also use information of your own.

(Total for Question 9 is 12 marks)

'Attitudes in society were more important than individuals or scientific discoveries in bringing about medical change in Britain between c1250 and the present.' How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

You may use the following in your answer:
- examples where religious or cultural attitudes slowed the acceptance of new medical ideas
- examples where public attitudes prompted government action, such as the Public Health Act 1875

You must also use information of your own. 4 marks are available for spelling, punctuation, grammar and specialist terminology.

(Total for Question 10 is 20 marks)

Mark scheme · 1.12 The Role of Attitudes in Society in Medical Change, c1250-Present

Question 1

B1 The Church
Answer: The Church

Question 2

B1 1796
Answer: 1796

Question 3

B1 Florence Nightingale
Answer: Florence Nightingale

Question 4

B1 the Thomas splint
Answer: The Thomas splint

Question 5

B1 fear of contradicting Galen and university teaching
B1 religious or cultural discomfort with dissection and challenging traditional authority
Answer: They feared contradicting Galen and the universities, and there was religious and cultural discomfort with dissection and challenging tradition.

Question 6

B1 some surgeons doubted germ theory and did not believe invisible organisms caused wound infection
B1 practical objections and professional conservatism, such as the extra time and cost involved and reluctance to change accepted techniques
Answer: They doubted germ theory and some objected on practical or professional-conservative grounds, such as extra time, cost and reluctance to change established methods.

Question 7

B1 Robert Koch
Answer: Robert Koch

Question 8

B1 belief that local government or private charities, not central government, should deal with poverty and disease
B1 fear that state intervention would be expensive and interfere with individual freedom or local business interests
Answer: A belief that local bodies or charities should handle problems, and fear that state intervention would be costly and intrusive.

Question 9

Level 1 (1-3): Identifies one or two simple reasons why attitudes affected reception, with little supporting detail or explanation.
Level 2 (4-6): Explains one or two reasons with some accurate supporting detail, beginning to show how attitudes influenced reception or policy.
Level 3 (7-9): Explains several reasons clearly, supported by accurate detail and analysis of how attitudes affected both popular reaction and political decisions.
Level 4 (10-12): Provides a well-developed explanation that links different social and cultural attitudes to the changing reception of vaccination and to debates over compulsion, supported throughout by precise and relevant detail.
Indicative content:
- Fears about safety and misunderstanding of how vaccination worked led many to reject Jennerian ideas at first, and rumours or isolated adverse events fed public unease.
- Religious objections, including discomfort with using material from animals and beliefs about interfering with divine providence, underpinned some opposition and made persuasion harder.
- Distrust of government interference, and a strong belief in individual liberty, meant that compulsory measures provoked organised resistance and political debate, contributing to the establishment of anti-vaccination societies.
- Conversely, changing attitudes about the role of government in protecting public health, and growing acceptance of empirical medical evidence, gradually made compulsory schemes politically possible in some periods, though they remained contested.
- The role of medical practitioners and local authorities mattered, since trusted local doctors could persuade some people, while heavy-handed central enforcement could inflame resistance.
- A balanced answer weighs how social attitudes shaped both public behaviour and the political feasibility of compulsion, using specific examples such as the 19th-century anti-vaccination movement and later legal compromises.

Question 10

Level 1 (1-4): Demonstrates limited knowledge of the period and offers a simple, unsupported opinion on the statement.
Level 2 (5-8): Shows some relevant knowledge and offers a basic argument for and against the statement, with limited supporting detail.
Level 3 (9-12): Shows good relevant knowledge and develops a balanced argument considering attitudes alongside individuals and scientific developments, supported by accurate detail.
Level 4 (13-16): Provides a well-developed, balanced and analytical answer that assesses the relative importance of attitudes, individuals and scientific discoveries, supported throughout by precise and relevant historical detail and clear reasoning.
Indicative content:
- Arguments supporting the statement, for example that religious conservatism and deference to Galen prevented dissection and new anatomy before c1500, and public or professional resistance delayed acceptance of Jenner, Lister and other innovations.
- Arguments against the statement, for example that individuals such as Vesalius, Harvey, Jenner, Nightingale and Lister used evidence, skill and leadership to overcome hostile attitudes, and that scientific discoveries such as germ theory provided the explanation and technique needed for change.
- How attitudes interacted with other factors: sometimes attitudes slowed adoption even when discovery existed, and sometimes changing evidence or strong individual leadership shifted attitudes in turn.
- Specific examples to discuss: the split between university Galenists and Vesalius's challengers; the anti-vaccination movement and the politics of compulsion; Nightingale's use of public opinion and statistics to press for reforms; the Public Health Act 1875 as a product of changing social attitudes and political will.
- A strong answer reaches a balanced judgement that recognises attitudes as a crucial factor that could enable or block change, but also that individuals and scientific development were often necessary to create the conditions in which attitudes would shift.

The Role of Attitudes in Society in Medical Change, c1250-Present - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

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