Document Type : pajoheshi
Authors
1 PhD graduate of Local History, Department of History, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Isfahan University, Isfahan, Iran
2 Professor of History Department, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ahvaz Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran.
3 Assistant Professor of History, Assistant Professor of History Department, Faculty of Literature and Humanities Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
Abstract
At the beginning of the Pahlavi dynasty, public health and medical conditions in Khuzestan were poor in various aspects, including access to clean drinking water, prevalence and treatment of diseases, personal and public hygiene, medical facilities, and health awareness. This research adopts a historical methodology with a descriptive-analytical approach, relying on library resources, documents, and publications, to answer its central question: How did the health and medical conditions in Khuzestan’s cities—such as Ahvaz, Abadan, Khorramshahr, Shushtar, Dezful, Masjed Soleiman, and Behbahan—change during Reza Shah’s era compared to the Qajar period?
The results show that despite some health and medical measures implemented during the early Pahlavi period—including the establishment of new medical centers, enforcement of health regulations, mass vaccination, supervision of medical staff, construction of sanitary facilities (e.g., laundries, mortuaries, irrigation systems), paving and asphalting of streets, and promotion of personal and public hygiene awareness—the health and medical conditions in Khuzestan’s cities remained unsatisfactory. However, with the gradual continuation of these measures until the late Reza Shah era, relative progress was achieved in the region’s health and medical structure compared to the Qajar period.
Nevertheless, due to challenges such as incorrect health and medical beliefs among the population, insufficient funding, and the lack or absence of essential health institutions (e.g., hospitals, medical staff, and public health departments) in some cities, health and medical problems in Khuzestan persisted.
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