Childbed Fever

By Christa Colyer

Abstract

This case describes the pioneering work of Ignaz Semmelweis and his efforts to remedy the problem of childbed fever in mid-19th century Europe. Its purpose is to teach students about the scientific method by "dissecting" the various steps involved in this important, historical medical breakthrough. The case is an interrupted case, that is, students receive only one piece of information at a time, followed by discussion, before moving on to the next piece of information to solve the mystery.

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Date Posted

12/08/1999

Overview

Objectives

To be able to define a problem or a question given a set of observations.
To be able to formulate an “explanatory story,” or hypothesis, in order to solve the problem at hand.
To be able to design a suitable experiment in order to evaluate the validity of the proposed hypothesis.
To be able to draw logical conclusions based on experimental results.
To understand the importance of the dissemination of scientific information and of establishing credibility within the scientific community.
To learn about the importance of observation when conducting scientific experiments, and to encourage observations beyond those expected or anticipated.

Keywords

Childbed fever; puerperal sepsis; infectious disease; hand washing; experimental design; hypothesis testing; Ignaz Semmelweis

Subject Headings

Biology (General)

Epidemiology

Medicine (General)

Public Health

Science (General)

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

High school, Undergraduate lower division

FORMAT

PDF

TOPICAL AREAS

History of science, Scientific method

LANGUAGE

English

TYPE/METHODS

Interrupted

Teaching Notes & Answer Key

Teaching Notes

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Answer Key

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