Abstract：Britain was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. The advancement of industrialization， the use of new materials， changes in manufacturing organization forms and the expansion of production scale led to an increase in the types of industrial diseases and the number of patients with industrial diseases in factories， workshops and mines. In the early 19th century， suffering from industrial disease was often regarded as the misfortunes of individual workers. Most employers believed that they should not take responsibility for the prevention and treatment of industrial diseases. The British government pursued a laissez-faire policy， holding the view that the matter should be resolved by employers and workers through negotiation. In the second half of the 19th century， with the development of occupational medicine， the exposure of industrial diseases by the news media， the investigation of incidence of the industrial diseases by public health officials， and the changes in the political and economic situation at home and abroad， the perception of industrial diseases changed. Industrial diseases were identified as a serious social problem. The concept that the state was responsible for the prevention and treatment of industrial diseases was recognized. Workers began to take the initiative to safeguard their own occupational health rights and interests. The change in the perception of industrial diseases in the 19th-century Britain promoted government action， which constructed a system for industrial diseases prevention and control， and achieved remarkable results in coping with industrial diseases.
徐佳星. 19世纪英国职业病认知的转变[J]. 华中师范大学学报（人文社会科学版）, 2025, 64(1): 90-99.
Xu Jiaxing. Changes in the Perception of Industrial Diseases in the 19th-Century Britain. journal1, 2025, 64(1): 90-99.
2025, Vol. 64 
