Thomas McKeown (British epidemiologist)

Thomas McKeown was a British epidemiologist known for his research on how improvements in living standards, nutrition, and living conditions—rather than medical treatments alone—significantly reduced infectious disease mortality. His studies suggested that social and economic factors played a crucial role in population health, challenging the idea that medicine was the primary driver of increased lifespan. McKeown’s work emphasized that better overall health environments contributed more to decreasing death rates from diseases like tuberculosis and smallpox, highlighting the importance of social determinants in public health.