How did Robert Koch characterize noncompliant tuberculosis patients in 1882?

Answer

"Vicious consumptives, careless and/or irresponsible"

In 1882, during the early scientific push to understand disease management, Robert Koch made a notable and harsh characterization regarding patients struggling with tuberculosis who did not follow prescribed medical advice. He described these noncompliant individuals as 'vicious consumptives, careless and/or irresponsible.' This perspective reflects an early, often judgmental, viewpoint that attributed non-adherence primarily to personal failings like carelessness or irresponsibility, contrasting sharply with later models that sought to understand complex, non-blaming reasons for deviation. Koch's statement is a significant marker in the history showing the early conceptualization of non-adherence as a moral or character flaw rather than a systemic or logistical challenge.

How did Robert Koch characterize noncompliant tuberculosis patients in 1882?
medicationinventionhealthsystemadherence