[Comparison and transfer analysis in the History of Medicine? A discussion using travelelogues as a source].

The number of comparative historical research projects is increasing. This is also true for the German-speaking countries. While issues in the history of medicine are still being studied less often in a comparative perspective, this kind of methodology is here applied increasingly, too. The author discusses whether using comparative methodology can benefit the history of medicine, taking an analysis of nineteenth-century travel reports as an example. These reports refer to the issue of psychiatric family care in France, Germany and Belgium.