Epidemics and healthcare in interaction. Epidemics as a public health problem in Slovenian territory from plague epidemics to the 20th century

The research will discuss the administrative-political and healthcare-medical methods of limiting the spread of plague, smallpox, cholera, and Spanish flu epidemics in Slovenian Habsburg provinces of Carniola, Styria, and the Austrian Littoral. Focus will be on the epidemics of diseases that caused high morbidity and mortality in a short period of time and led to the introduction of various anti-epidemic measures. During the period discussed, the occurring epidemics formed a changing yet complex anti-epidemic system. The basic chronological orientation corresponds to the period between the plague epidemics in the Middle Ages and the Spanish flu pandemic at the end of the First World War. The two main research objectives are to detect and contextualize anti-epidemic measures over an extended period of time and to determine the impact of epidemics on the development of health policies and authorities, as well as the organization of healthcare in Slovenian territory. Both objectives will be attained with a problem-oriented discussion of individual anti-epidemic measures and related healthcare topics, such as: a) closures of provincial borders, sanitary cordons and prohibition of trade, b) quarantine, c) vaccination, d) the impact of epidemics on changes in health policies and the development of healthcare, e) the treatment of infected and sick. Within the framework of these topics, focus will also be on the creators and implementers of anti-epidemic measures, as well as their economic and social implications. The proposed research is the first attempt in Slovenian historiography at discussing the history of epidemics through the perspective of the history of long duration (longue durée). Studying past measures and their implications for limiting the spread of historical epidemics in Slovenian territory will also crucially contribute towards understanding the broader historical context of the measures that we are experiencing in the current COVID-19 pandemic.