Temporal Heat Map Results
Legend
Tuberculosis Death Rates (Per 100 Deaths)
0-7% Light yellow
7-10% Yellow
10-12% Gold
12-15% Orange
15-20% Red
Sanatoriums, Hospital Departments, and Pavilions are indicated by black dots. These four time frames play successively, adding the new spaces to each previous amount:
1880-1899
1900-1905
1906-1910
1911-1916
Analysis
This temporal heat map illustrates the impact of a specific public health initiatives on tuberculosis death rates in the early twentieth-century. The goal for this project was to see if the establishment of sanatoriums, built to isolate and hopefully cure tuberculosis before the antibiotic existed, correlated with a decreasing death rate. This temporal heat maps reveals that the building of isolated spaces for tuberculous patients did not always parallel a decreasing mortality. For example, in California the death rate did not change from 1890-1910 with the opening of public and private sanatoriums. The death rate was static, so we can conclude that sanatorium construction had no real impact until after 1911. Curiously, the death rate in Colorado increased as the building of sanatoriums and hospitals increased. This anomaly might be caused by the better registration of deaths or by the increased number of tuberculous patients in that area. The literature discussing tuberculosis cures propagated fresh air and dry climate as one of the best factors in the disease's curability, causing some patients to travel to more salubrious locations. [1]
However, though this digital methodology was integral to my argument, it generated further research questions. For example, Colorado curiously experienced an increasing tuberculosis mortality rate with an increasing sanatorium construction- Why? Additionally, this map revealed the relationship not only between each state and its sanatorium construction, but also the relationship between the states’ death rates. Utah began with and consistently exhibited a low tuberculosis death rate, while most states in the New England region started around a ten percent death rate that declined over time- Why?
In order to further this exploration of public health initiatives' impact, researchers need to map their various forms, as well as different demographic layers. For example, one could add the layers of anti-expectoration law enforcement, tuberculosis exhibits and lectures, the dissemination of tuberculosis prevention bulletins, and the eventual antibiotic distribution. Moreover, layering demographic disparities, such as race and age, on the temporal heat map would give this project another dimension. One could examine the impact of tuberculosis education on death rates for both "whites" and "blacks," as listed on the census. For example, I planned a focused study of this project for one city in particular- Richmond, VA. I wanted to map the location of black churches in the city that disseminated information on tuberculosis and the location of black dispensaries with the predominantly black areas of Richmond. It would be interesting to see if the death rates in those areas changed at all, perhaps due to the education. Another project idea I explored was to map the location of public schools that held tuberculosis exhibits for children once the government and local anti-tuberculosis associations directed prevention toward the younger population. Did the death rates for those children decline, increase, or stay the same? These possibilities and the specific study above reveal how integral a temporal heat map is to exploring the impact of various public health initiatives on contagion death rates and morbidity rates. Researchers can map any contagious disease, any public health initiative, and any demographic layer to show change over time, overall impact, and various relationships. It exists as a valuable framework for both history of medicine studies as well as contemporary public health studies and policy.
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Tuberculosis Death Rates (Per 100 Deaths)
0-7% Light yellow
7-10% Yellow
10-12% Gold
12-15% Orange
15-20% Red
Sanatoriums, Hospital Departments, and Pavilions are indicated by black dots. These four time frames play successively, adding the new spaces to each previous amount:
1880-1899
1900-1905
1906-1910
1911-1916
Analysis
This temporal heat map illustrates the impact of a specific public health initiatives on tuberculosis death rates in the early twentieth-century. The goal for this project was to see if the establishment of sanatoriums, built to isolate and hopefully cure tuberculosis before the antibiotic existed, correlated with a decreasing death rate. This temporal heat maps reveals that the building of isolated spaces for tuberculous patients did not always parallel a decreasing mortality. For example, in California the death rate did not change from 1890-1910 with the opening of public and private sanatoriums. The death rate was static, so we can conclude that sanatorium construction had no real impact until after 1911. Curiously, the death rate in Colorado increased as the building of sanatoriums and hospitals increased. This anomaly might be caused by the better registration of deaths or by the increased number of tuberculous patients in that area. The literature discussing tuberculosis cures propagated fresh air and dry climate as one of the best factors in the disease's curability, causing some patients to travel to more salubrious locations. [1]
However, though this digital methodology was integral to my argument, it generated further research questions. For example, Colorado curiously experienced an increasing tuberculosis mortality rate with an increasing sanatorium construction- Why? Additionally, this map revealed the relationship not only between each state and its sanatorium construction, but also the relationship between the states’ death rates. Utah began with and consistently exhibited a low tuberculosis death rate, while most states in the New England region started around a ten percent death rate that declined over time- Why?
In order to further this exploration of public health initiatives' impact, researchers need to map their various forms, as well as different demographic layers. For example, one could add the layers of anti-expectoration law enforcement, tuberculosis exhibits and lectures, the dissemination of tuberculosis prevention bulletins, and the eventual antibiotic distribution. Moreover, layering demographic disparities, such as race and age, on the temporal heat map would give this project another dimension. One could examine the impact of tuberculosis education on death rates for both "whites" and "blacks," as listed on the census. For example, I planned a focused study of this project for one city in particular- Richmond, VA. I wanted to map the location of black churches in the city that disseminated information on tuberculosis and the location of black dispensaries with the predominantly black areas of Richmond. It would be interesting to see if the death rates in those areas changed at all, perhaps due to the education. Another project idea I explored was to map the location of public schools that held tuberculosis exhibits for children once the government and local anti-tuberculosis associations directed prevention toward the younger population. Did the death rates for those children decline, increase, or stay the same? These possibilities and the specific study above reveal how integral a temporal heat map is to exploring the impact of various public health initiatives on contagion death rates and morbidity rates. Researchers can map any contagious disease, any public health initiative, and any demographic layer to show change over time, overall impact, and various relationships. It exists as a valuable framework for both history of medicine studies as well as contemporary public health studies and policy.
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The map below is an interactive version with more information. You can toggle the sanatoriums' open date and the tuberculosis death rate time frame. You can also change the basemap- for example, you can switch it from the current topographic base to street view or a simple gray base. However, the map is not temporal, so it will not show change over time. If I were fluent in technology, I would combine the map above with this map for the ultimate argument showcase and user experience. Click the link below and click the Contents button to view and explore the interactive map:
1. Teller, Michael. "Chasing the Cure," in The Tuberculosis Movement: A Public Health Campaign in the Progressive Era. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, Inc, 1988. 15-31.