Talk:Lester Breslow

Latest comment: 10 years ago by Areichfeld

Proposed Edit Life Breslow was born in Bismarck, North Dakota. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota, which is also where he received his MD and MPH. Dr. Breslow served in the United States Army during World War II, and when he returned he took a position with the California State Department of Public Health. While in medical school he was studying to be a psychiatrist, and as a junior he worked for a summer in the Fergus Falls Minnesota State Hospital for the Insane. His experience there left him discouraged once he realized that in that time, there was not much they could do for those patients except keep them out of harm’s way. When he returned to medical school for his senior year he told a friend of his, also a faculty member, about his feelings and was introduced to a new professor of public health, Gaylord Anderson. Anderson was the one that got Breslow set on a career in epidemiology. Dr. Breslow was considered an exemplary doctor as well as a genuinely good person. In an obituary written by one of his former “protégées” it says, “I was one of Lester’s preventative medicine residents 15 years ago… Having had an opportunity to observe him engage with ‘paupers’ and ‘kings,’ I can attest to his treatment of all with respect and appreciation for their humanity, abilities, and contributions. I can also attest to his refusal to accept anything less than the best, from others (like me!) and particularly, from himself.”

Work Dr. Breslow’s work, which lasted for more than half of a century, made a very large impact on the world of public health. He is credited with pioneering chronic disease prevention and health behavior intervention. One of his most famous works is with the Human Population Laboratory, where he looked at the correlation between lifestyle issues like exercise, diet, sleep, smoking, and alcohol with mortality. He believed that health should be regarded as a resource for everyday life, as opposed to just a way to prevent diseases.

Notable Positions Held - California State Department Director of Public Health - Director of President’s Commission on the Health Needs of the Nation - President of International Epidemiology Association (1964 – 1968) - President of American Public Health Association - President of Association of Schools of Public Health - Dean of UCLA’s School of Public Health

References: Baquet, Claudia R. and Lester Breslow. "A Conversation with Lester Breslow."

 Yancey, Antronete K. "Obituary: Lester Breslow."
 Stallworth, JoAna and Jeffery L Lennon. "An Interview with Dr. Lester Breslow."
 Breslow, Lester. "From Disease Prevention to Health Promotion."
 Fielding, Jonathan E, Steven Teutsch and Lester Breslow. "A Framework for Public Health in the United States."
 Pemberton, John. "Commentary: On the article by Lester Breslow on the origins and development of the IEA."

Orbaczea (talk) 03:24, 21 April 2014 (UTC)Reply

Orbaczea I can help you with this. Since anyone can edit Wikipedia, we maintain quality here by trying to match every statement made with a citation. In contrast to other publications, Wikipedia may even have a citation or multiple citations after every sentence, and people appreciate that. Would it be possible for you to match the text you have above with these citations? Also, if you have links to any online sources then share the URL and I will help you make a citation, or you can try to do it yourself with Wikipedia's own citation tool. Please do not feel pressure about formatting - I can sort all that for you, but the difficult thing for me is to match the information with citations. If you can do that for each sentence then I can help get it into the article nicely. Also, if you need my attention anywhere, type {{u|Bluerasberry}} and that calls me to wherever you are. Thanks. Blue Rasberry (talk) 14:16, 21 April 2014 (UTC)Reply
Orbaczea,

1. Not every sentence has a citation at the end. I think that you may have several sentences from the same source in a row and just cited it once you switched sources. For example, in your first paragraph, the first citation doesn't come until the end of the seventh sentence. There are other places in your editions where this happens as well. Just make sure you cite every sentence, even if you are using the same source several sentences consecutively.

2. The only thing that I found to be slightly subjective and non-neutral was your eighth sentence, "Dr. Breslow was considered an exemplary doctor as well as a genuinely good person." I think that if you answer the question "who considers him to be this way?" it will eliminate the non neutral-ness. If it's another notable doctor, then your sentence will become verifiable and objective. Other than that, I found no traces of subjectivity or a tone that was non neutral. Good job!

3. You don't have any unsourced opinions. Again, I'd suggest you just go back and make sure to cite each sentence. And on the talk page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Lester_Breslow), make sure that you add your citations there as well.

Overall I think you did a great job! The writing kept me interested and was quite fascinating! Gina at Stockton College (talk) 23:37, 21 April 2014 (UTC)Reply


1. Does each sentence of the proposed edit lead back to a reliable source for a reference or citation? If not, point out which ones do not, and how they need to be fixed.

Yes, the sentences that have a reference do lead back to a reliable source. I would just go back through and add the citation to the other sentences before it, even if the reference is from the same website. That is at least how I understood the assignment anyway, that each sentence was to have a reference after it. Otherwise, it looks great. You can tell that you really took the time to organize everything and make this Wikipedia page really interesting.

2. Is any of the language that the edit uses subjective or not-neutral? For example, "most popular pop singer" is a subjective criteria that is not neutral. However, "winner of 10 Grammy awards", when backed up by a reliable source, is acceptable as it makes use of verifiable information.

No, all of the language within the edit seems to be neutral and backed by reliable information.

3. Does the language contain contains unsourced opinions and value statements, which are not neutral and should be removed? For example, instead of saying: “She was the best singer,” the text should say: “She had 14 number one hits, more than any other singer.”

No, this proposal contains the proper language for the Wikipedia and is correctly sourced. Areichfeld (talk) 03:37, 25 April 2014 (UTC)Reply