Health and Health Care in the Scottish Highlands, 1845-1950. (360G-Wellcome-085430_Z_08_Z)

While we now know a reasonable amount about the history of the Scottish Highlands in the modern era, health, healthcare and welfare issues remain seriously neglected. This project is the second phase of an archival scoping investigation, aimed a identifying and assessing key primary source for a long term project on health provision in the Scottish Highlands. Vital but underused archival sources have already been identified; this project would result in a detailed analysis of these records. The ultimate aims of this project are to address the following key areas: (1) How did the image of the Highlands of Scotland as a 'peripheral' region affect health and social welfare provision in the period 1845 to 1950? (2) What, during this period, was the relationship between statutory provision of health welfare and that of private enterprise and initiative, and how did this differ from elsewhere in Scotland/Britain? (3) In what specific ways have the particular historical circumstances of Highland Scotland contributed to contemporary health issues?