Shapers of a Movement: Dorothy Stopford Price and the Fight for Community Health
Have you heard of the rebel doctor? The one who made it her mission to eradicate childhood tuberculosis in Ireland by introducing the BCG vaccine?
Living through two world wars, the 1918 influenza pandemic, the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, and the development of a new Ireland, this movement shaper had seen it all. Not wanting to sit and watch her community suffer, she made it her mission as a physician to bring community healthcare to the forefront of a new Ireland.
In the second to last edition of Shapers of a Movement, we’ll meet #MovementShaper Dorothy Stopford Price, an Irish doctor who introduced the BCG vaccination to Ireland.
Born on September 9, 1890, into a family of Irish clerics and health workers, Dorothy Stopford Price grew up knowing the importance of service and community care. She believed in helping those around her. She’s also the niece of Alice Stopford Green, a famed Irish historian and nationalist who became one of the first woman senators of the Irish Free State.
Dorothy started her education by working with the Charitable Organisation Society, where she studied a form of social science; she also learned art and design, but ultimately chose to study medicine at age twenty-five at Trinity College Dublin. In 1920, she received her bachelor’s degree in Midwifery and Surgery, and an MB in 1921. She helped heart patients at the Meath Hospital in Dublin and was therefore present as a medical student during the 1918 Influenza pandemic. But how did this rebel doctor ultimately end up in community health?
Let’s take a look at these comic strips:
Dorothy Stopford Price had a stroke in 1950 due to overworking; she died in 1954 after her second stroke. Dorothy was a shaper of community health in Ireland, helping to eradicate tuberculosis. Her research, volunteerism, and campaign for all to be vaccinated, especially health workers, are what make her a #MovementShaper. Countless movement shapers develop coalitions and work with others to create a better, safer, and more accessible community space.
Movement Musings:
Here are other community-focused #MovementShapers:
~With thanks to @rayliur on Twitter for the idea for the comic/graphic narrative~
Joycelyn lives in Cypress, Texas. She’s the daughter of immigrants and did not go to law school, but she received three degrees (BA, MA, MPH) and is happily freelancing and working in the nonprofit world. She enjoys writing about healthcare recruitment and even worked as a Healthcare Organizer. When she’s not writing, she’s transcribing, developing community toolkits, and researching womxn’s history. Which is why she’s excited about writing for AMPLIFY. On her off days, she spends her time on Twitter, reminding everyone to drink water and enabling others to watch more dramas. Follow her on Twitter: @jg_humanitarian