Blog Sanitation voted Best Medical Milestone
by Catherine LaineJanuary 23rd, 2007
The people have spoken. Sanitation was voted the greatest medical breakthrough since 1840 in a poll conducted by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), reaffirming the importance of infrastructure in public health. Sample Size: 11341.
|
Most important advance |
Number |
Proportion (%) |
|
| Sanitation (clean water and sewage disposal) |
1795 |
|
|
| Antibiotics |
1642 |
14.5 |
|
| Anaesthesia |
1574 |
13.9 |
|
| Vaccines |
1337 |
11.8 |
|
| Discovery of DNA structure |
1000 |
8.8 |
|
| Germ theory |
843 |
7.4 |
|
| Oral contraceptive pill |
842 |
7.4 |
|
| Evidence-based medicine |
636 |
5.6 |
|
| Medical imaging (x-rays, etc.) |
471 |
4.2 |
|
| Computers |
405 |
3.6 |
|
| Oral rehydration therapy |
308 |
2.7 |
|
| Risks of smoking |
183 |
1.6 |
|
| Immunology |
182 |
1.6 |
|
| Chlorpromazine |
73 |
0.6 |
|
| Tissue culture |
50 |
0.4 |
|
| Total Respondents |
11341 |
100.0 |
The Data (BMJ)
They also published a supplement, where champions argued the merits of each individual advance.
Responses to the poll on BMJ
via THD Blog
See previous post on the impact of infrastructure development on health
