The Tasks of Public or Social Hygiene
The rapid progress of social hygiene, which originated in England, has led to the establishment of various institutions in all civilized nations, some initiated by private individuals and others by the State.
In Italy, particularly effective are the Pontifical Commission for Assistance, the Italian Red Cross, the Maternity and Childhood Welfare Organization, and various insurance institutes. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has also been established.
The fields of action of social hygiene are numerous:
1. **Study of the State and Movement of the Population** — Investigations must be conducted with broad statistical controls, and deductions must be compared with those of other nations and with information drawn from past experiences. It has been observed, for example, that in many nations there is a significant excess of the female population over the male. This can be detrimental to public health and morality, as many men remain unmarried, finding it easy to satisfy sexual desires without assuming the obligations and burdens of married life, thereby increasing prostitution, the number of illegitimate children, and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, which harm both those who contract them directly and their offspring. It has also been noted that in many nations, there is a progressive aging of the population due to a decline in births and an increase in average life expectancy.
It is the task of social hygiene to indicate means to mitigate, as far as possible, the consequences of these two phenomena.
2. **Working Conditions** — Excessive working hours, work performed in unhealthy environments without adequate provisions, inadequate remuneration, and the employment of female labor to the detriment of male labor can, depending on the case, lead to damage to health (increase in tuberculosis), the disintegration of families (women neglecting their household duties), a decline in birth rates, unemployment, nervousness, excitement, and even social unrest.
3. **Nutrition** — Social hygiene studies nutrition in relation to the caloric, vitamin, and mineral needs of populations and workers.
Unhealthy and insufficient nutrition can stem from economic factors, local customs, or a particular lifestyle that makes it difficult to adhere to healthy eating habits. The consequences, depending on the case, may include tuberculosis, osteomalacia, rickets, impaired fetal development, impaired physical and psychological development in children, asthenia, and many metabolic diseases, among others.
4. **Housing** — The housing problem is of great importance because man, to preserve his health and to be stimulated to work, needs space, greenery, sunlight, and quiet. Insufficient housing leads, among other things, to overcrowding, which is harmful to the physical and moral health of populations.
5. **Clothing** — Social hygiene highlights the harm caused by certain styles of dress (corsets, tight belts, poorly fitted shoes) and studies the types of clothing most suitable for different categories of workers. Given its connection with moral hygiene, it also promotes the formation of an ethical conscience that discourages the use of clothing that inappropriately excites sensuality: everyone has the right to choose clothing they like, but when appearing in public, they must feel the obligation to respect the moral conscience of others.
6. **Recreational Activities** — Sport in all its forms (swimming, rowing, ball games, running, hiking, tennis, etc.) falls within the tasks of social hygiene because it fosters cleanliness, order, discipline, and improves health by invigorating the body.
It is also the task of social hygiene to provide wholesome joys by promoting religion, which pacifies the soul, and by fostering the joy of work. Psychotechnics assists social hygiene by indicating the activities to which those seeking employment are best suited; it is well known that the suitability of a person’s aptitudes for a job is one of the most important factors in job satisfaction.
7. **Eugenics** — This must be studied in light of the progress of biological and social sciences, without fanaticism and with full respect for human personality.
The harmful influences on offspring from certain infectious diseases and chronic intoxications are well known; it is also known that advanced maternal age can weaken children, that conception in a state of intoxication can adversely affect the fetus, that marriages between carriers of the same hereditary defects risk transmitting similar defects to their children, and that marriages between individuals from different regions are generally more favorable (whereas marriages between individuals of different races often produce inferior offspring); that single-child families are not eugenically advisable, etc.
Based on these general principles, social hygiene focuses on safeguarding maternity, infants, children, adolescents, and youth, promoting institutions that protect the physical and moral health of families and individuals.
It also acts in favor of workers, defending them from excessively long working hours, unhealthy work environments, exposure to toxic substances in unhealthy industries, excessive noise, etc.
Furthermore, it studies the impact of the social environment on the onset and spread of particularly dangerous diseases such as plague, cholera, leprosy, typhoid, smallpox, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and harmful intoxications such as alcoholism, morphine addiction, and cocaine addiction. It also examines the issue of prostitution, which remains unresolved, as both regulation and abolitionism have proven equally ineffective.
Another task of social hygiene is to provide prophylaxis for mental illnesses, whose origins involve congenital predispositions and many toxic or environmental causes.
Finally, social hygiene ensures the implementation of effective health legislation to protect citizens’ health (health insurance, particularly against tuberculosis), to safeguard workers (workplace accident insurance, provisions for accident prevention, workplace safety, and compliance with working hour regulations), to address occupational diseases, and to protect against disability and old age. To this end, it organizes research centers, consulting services, hospitals, convalescent homes, maternal dining halls, daycare centers, nurseries, outdoor schools, orphanages, and rehabilitation homes for wayward individuals.
In its complex work, social hygiene must uphold the unchanging norms of moral law and be animated by a spirit of true charity that recognizes and respects the rights of others.