This essay presents a historical approach to social representations of health and disease. It follows propositions from the trend of New History, focusing on cultural permanence over long periods of time rather than change. First, the cogency of the model is discussed. Then, a history of representations concerning health and disease is carried out. We perceive that there is a persistence of representations that coexist ambiguous in the indiviudals' minds. Topics like guilt, fear, stressing threats, and decay of the human body have always been part of attitudes regarding disease, in social representations of health and disease.
Health and Disease; Socioeconomic Factors; History; Social Representations