Summary

Reports of Norwegian medical officers from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries provide detailed information for the entire country down to the level of individual health districts. The nineteenth-century reports are of special medical historical interest. The design of the reports makes it possible to compare the real health situation to the perception of it held by health personnel. Data on epidemic diseases from the period 1868–1900 have been excerpted and compared to the written descriptions in the reports and interpreted in relation to the overarching medical and social contexts. This analysis illustrates the importance of health perception as an independent historical agent.

Diseases, Perceptions and Health Services

The main argument here is that a relationship exists between the health conditions in a population, how this health situation is perceived and the function of the health services. This relationship is more the result of shifting perceptions than the actual health of the population and the conditions in which the people live.

These perceptions are held by people at different levels in the medical hierarchy from the lay patients, through various categories of health personnel, up to the central national authorities. These ideas and beliefs make up the basis for attitudes in health matters which exert influence when setting priorities. There-fore perceptions and attitudes are key to the understanding of developments in medicine, health and health services.