The Process of “Occupational Diseases” Research during the Interwar Period

: Focusing on Factory Supervisors and Doctors

Abstract

This paper examines factory supervisors and factory doctors involved in occupational safety and health during the interwar period when factory workers’ interest in health was increasing, and the “industrial poisoning” that was occurring at the time was increasing. I examined what kind of interest was being had in the first “occupational diseases”, focusing on the discussions at that time, which were published in “Social medicine magazines”. As a result of the analysis, the following results were obtained. Some factory supervisors started research on “occupational diseases” based on medical expertise and promoted social problems, and factory doctors were assigned to some factories, but medical treatment for “occupational diseases” The system has not been developed and the medical treatment itself has not remained. As a result, there was a difference in the perception of the “occupational disease” between the plant supervisor and the plant doctor. On the other hand, what the factory inspector and the factory doctor have in common is the look of disdain for factory workers, which is not only regarded as an object to guide factory workers, but also constantly evaluated and selected under the name of medical choice.