Do Less Harm

Ethical Questions for Health Historians

Courtney E. Thompson, Kylie M. Smith, Richard A. McKay, Barron H. Lerner, Kylie M. Smith, Nicole Lee Schroder, Jess Dillard-Wright, Shelley Angelie Saggar, Melissa Grafe, Aisling Shalvey, Amanda L. Mahoney, Katrina Jirik, Aparna Nair, Marco Antonio Ramos, Ayah Nuriddin, Jonathan Sadowsky, Lauren MacIvor Thompson, St, Courtney E. Thompson, Kylie M. Smith

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781421452272
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Ethics in Medicine

Offers reflections, provocative questions, and practical strategies for ethical, responsible approaches to health history.

In Do Less Harm, editors Courtney E. Thompson and Kylie M. Smith bring together a group of leading historians and scholars to confront one of the most pressing questions in health history: How can we ethically approach stories of medicine and health without perpetuating harm? This thought-provoking collection invites readers into a crucial conversation about the responsibilities of historians when documenting the past.

Through carefully curated essays, the contributors explore the ethical dilemmas that arise in researching, teaching, and writing about the history of health care. From patient privacy to the politics of archives, the essays cover how health histories have often overlooked, misunderstood, or misrepresented the people and communities most affected by medical practices. The contributors challenge the assumptions of the field, offering a more thoughtful approach to historical research—one that emphasizes empathy, accountability, and inclusivity.

The book raises provocative questions and proposes practical strategies for historians and scholars to do less harm in their work and is organized around key themes such as research, teaching, writing, and public engagement, making it an indispensable resource for anyone working in the history of health care, ethics, or the health humanities. With its engaging style and accessible insights, Do Less Harm offers a fresh and timely perspective for academics, students, and readers interested in the ethical challenges of representing the past.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction A Field Guide to Doing Less Harm
• Part I The Historian
• Part II Archives and Museums
• Part III Research
• Part IV Writing
• Part V Teaching
• Conclusion The Expanding Ethics of Doing Health History: A Personal Journey
• Coda A Report, a Turn
• Appendix A: Ethical Questions for Health Historians to Consider
• Appendix B: Recommended Readings
• Contributors
• Index