Activities
To develop and publish historical accounts of disease and health care in the Australia-Pacific region and elsewhere.
To support the rigorous historical analysis of the enormous variety of health care.
How we do these things
Conferences
An ANZSHM conference is held on a biennial basis. The conference usually spans 3-5 days at venues around Australia and New Zealand. The program includes keynote addresses, a program of research papers and other intellectual and social activities.
The ANZSHM also participates in other historical conferences from time to time.
Ben Haneman Memorial Student Prize-
Publications
The ANZSHM publishes a quarterly newsletter, Medical History Newsletter, which is sent to all members.
The Society's journal, Health and History, is peer reviewed and published twice yearly.Communication is encouraged via this website. Please contact us by email or letter with contributions, suggestions and ideas.
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Witness Seminars
At the biennial conferences and at some associated history of medicine conferences the society has supported the organisation of a Witness Seminar on an important topic relevant to history of medicine in Australia and/or New Zealand.
The idea of the 'Witness Seminar' was pioneered by the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at the University College London. Witnesses of particular events or developments meet to reminisce, discuss and debate among themselves, in a chairman-led meeting and with a participating audience of historian, scientists, clinicians and others. Questions such as 'What was it like at the time?' and 'Why did things happen the way they did?' form the backbone of such discussions.
The proceedings are recorded, transcribed and prepared for possible publication.The 2003 Witness Seminar on 'Venomous Country' as well as Witness Seminars organised by the University of Melbourne can be found at: www.cshs.unimelb.edu.au/programs/jnmhu/witness
The 2005 Witness Seminar entitled 'The History of Fetal Medicine' was held in Auckland.
The 2006 Witness Seminar 'History of Iodine Deficiency in Tasmania 1806-2006' was held in Launceston, Tasmania.
The 2007 Witness Seminar, on 'Global Eradication of Human Infectious Diseases', was held at the 10th Biennial Conference in Canberra.
The 2009 Witness Seminar, on 'Asbestos Related Disease', was held at the 11th Biennial Conference in Perth.