Per 100,000 population o 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 



I I I I 1—1 — t— I — I — t- l I I I I -f-^^^-^ ^z^E 



1 230 240 250 260 



UNEQUAL USE OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IN COMBATING TUBERCULOSIS 



Variations in the death rates from preventable diseases are related to position in the 

 community. The death rate from tuberculosis among colored populations, for example, 

 Is from two to seven times as great as among the whites in eleven large cities that 

 have more than 10 per cent of Negroes in their populations 



sufficient food, but it is also a matter of faulty choice of food. Wise choice 

 calls for knowledge and understanding, which do not necessarily come with 

 money. It is probably significant that the states which have been spending 

 most to improve their schools have consistently had good health records, 

 whereas those which have been spending least for schools have the highest 

 death rates. "Health" and "education" and "wealth" are not independent 

 facts. Poor people, for example, who suffer most from sickness, are also de- 

 prived of their share in modern knowledge and understanding. 



It is true that for the individual and for the family it is practically impos- 

 sible to make use of new scientific knowledge as it comes along. But a com- 

 munity that is well informed will get its officials or its professional leaders to 

 produce results that seem miraculous to those who do not understand what is 

 happening. Over a period of years before the Second World War the health 

 department of Detroit carried on a special campaign to locate every case of 

 tuberculosis and to provide the necessary care and treatment. When the war 

 came, with its great strain upon workers, its exceptional crowding, and its 

 deterioration of living conditions, the health administration continued its 

 efforts to drive the tuberculosis rate down and was successful, whereas in 

 other war-industry centers the rate turned upward. 



609 



