Science

The Story of Wendy Hill (USPHS, 1949)

The symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes are outlined in the story of a young, small-town wife, her family, her physician, and some of the townspeople. Myths about diabetes are debunked. Guidelines for living a normal life while coping with diabetes are given. Insulin therapy is promoted when appropriate.

Peter Borik: The Story of the Tragedy he Brought his Family (Michigan Tuberculosis Assn, 1944)

Historical Audiovisuals from the National Library of Medicine Tuberculosis (TB), while rare in the United States today, remains a potent killer in developing nations. In the U.S. in the mid-20th century, the impact of TB was real and devastating. In this 1944 film, farmer Peter Borik has tuberculosis but refuses to be treated in a sanatorium. He remains bedridden at home, where no precautions are taken against the spread of infection. Both his daughters contract TB, and one dies.

Dance, Little Children (Kansas State Board of Health, 1965)

Chronicles an outbreak of syphilis among teens in the fictional town of Oakdale. A girl, Lynn, has a few dates with a wealthy boy, Hal, then goes to see her family doctor when she develops a rash. Though the doctor considers syphilis, he doesn't test Lynn initially, thinking it can't be true. The role of the state and local public health departments in tracking down contacts of infected people and testing them is shown. The primary state health investigator is shown confidentially interviewing the teens.

Challenge for Habilitation: The Child with Congenital Rubella Syndrome (Texas Children's Hosp, 1977)

This film documents the rubella study group and nursery in the child development clinic at Texas Children's Hospital. The study group worked to rehabilitate 150 children with congenital rubella syndrome, a maternal viral infection that can cause hearing impairment, visual impairment, or motor handicaps. During the 1964-1965 epidemic, an estimated 20,000-30,000 children were born with congenital rubella syndrome.

V.D.? See Your Doctor (Canada Dept. of National Health and Welfare, 1968)

Over footage of young people in school, in social situations, in a physician's office, and in a public health department office, the symptoms, mode of transmission, and dangers of gonorrhea and syphilis are presented. The necessity of contacting sexual partners is stressed, and the emotional distress this can cause is illustrated. The folly of ignoring symptoms and of using patent medicines is explained. The viewer is urged to eschew promiscuous sexual activity.

Infections and Birth Defects (NIH, 1966)

Profiles a National Institutes of Health study of infectious diseases that can cause abnormal pregnancy outcomes in women. Outcomes include stillbirth, abortion, and birth defects. Fifty thousand pregnant women and their infants participated in the Collaborative Perinatal Research Project, a joint effort of several institutes at NIH. Blood is drawn regularly from mother and child and tested. The laboratory procedures and other workflows are shown and described in some detail.

T.B. Nurse Wallace (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, [1952])

This film is a dramatization of the arrival and settling-in of a newly-minted nurse at a tuberculosis sanitarium. At first she is unsure of her skills, and worried that she will contract the disease from her patients. She freezes during an emergency situation, but sees how the experienced nurses handle it, and as she becomes more experienced and confident herself, her perspective changes and her abilities are sharpened. She challenges one depressed patient to fight for his health, and the gambit works.

How Can Syphilis Be Prevented? [Silent] (USPHS, 1944)

This film emphasizes the necessity of the early diagnosis of syphilis, its clinical manifestations, and modes of treatment by reputable sources. It points out the danger of improper treatment by quacks. This film presents methods for prevention of syphilis, blood-testing to determine if infection has occurred, and treatment for a diagnosed infection. It recommends that a blood test for syphilis take place at every routine medical exam, and that pregnant women be tested so that transmission of the disease to the unborn child can be avoided.

Malaria (USPHS, 1944)

This filmograph is designed to impart general information regarding malaria, its cause, transmission, and prevention. In a series of still images, this film describes the danger posed by malaria and its transmission by mosquitoes. A family is stricken with the disease, and a doctor comes to examine them and provide treatment. A health officer later visits to advise the family on ways to prevent future infections. Additionally, the community must take steps to eliminate the mosquitoes. Produced by the United States Public Health Service.