National, International and Transnational Histories of Healthcare, 1850-2000

The current state of the art in the history of healthcare suggests an ongoing divide in terms of themes, approaches, methods and even sources between historians working in different parts of Europe. This reflects separate research cultures and networks shaped by long term approaches to the history of medicine including, the role of medic-historians, the social sciences, social and cultural history and even politics. This Action will address this challenge through scientific exchange around four research themes – Healthcare Provision, Healthcare Providers, Patients, and Finance – that will feed into the capacity building objectives. These thematic working groups will integrate and finesse diverse methods and approaches and extend knowledge and understanding of experience and sources currently in use across Europe. Through training events, skills exchange and publications the project will create critical mass in the history of European healthcare, providing support and an academic environment for scholars at all stages of their career. It will facilitate the establishment of a platform for their work that seeks to temper the dominance of Anglophone publication and presentation opportunities; create core groups across the continent to exchange ideas and produce collective outputs; enhance opportunities for research students and early career researchers to experience diverse academic cultures and approaches; and institute collegiate mentoring structures that will reduce hierarchies dominated by seniority and promote fair and equal opportunities irrespective of race, gender, age or class. The core methodological approach we will use will be comparative history.