The influence of the Social Science Association on hospital planning in Victorian England.

THE LAMENT in Tennyson's In Memoriam, "So many worlds, so much to do,/So little done, such things to be," all but characterizes the attitude of the Victorians, who, though shocked by the discovery of social ills within their society, confidently set about to solve their problems with grave determination. New knowledge in the social and natural sciences seemed to promise a means of recovery from some of the painful side-effects of urbanization. All that was needed was proper application of this new knowledge through organized effort. In the health field, the sanitary revolution was the major attraction of the day. However, other complementary movements, such as hospital reform, occupied the energies of a number of prominent individuals. The cities, unable to meet the sanitary needs of a rapidly growing population, likewise, had not planned adequately to meet the medical needs of those dependent on hospitals. An organization called the Social Science Association served as a focal point for those who sought a better way of delivering medical services through a well-organized hospital system. At first, these hospital reformers carried out their investigations under the aegis of the Social Science Association, which sponsored England's first Hospital Conference. That which concerned the participants of this conference bears a remarkable resemblance to the concerns ofmodern American health planners. Later, after the parent organization disbanded, a splinter group continued the work of bringing the failings of Britain's hospital system before the government and the general public.