who was responsible for the humanitarian movement to improve the conditions of insane asylums
I think Philippe Pinel is the person you seek, at least he was the first.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8657817&dopt=Abstract
I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.
Dorthea Dix was given a lot of credit in the early 1800's.
Yes, you are correct. Philippe Pinel is often credited as one of the key figures responsible for the humanitarian movement to improve the conditions of insane asylums. He was a French physician who advocated for treating mental illness with compassion and kindness. In the late 18th century, Pinel implemented reforms in Paris where he removed the chains and restraints from the mentally ill patients, and focused on providing them with humane treatment and care.
Additionally, as you mentioned, Dorothea Dix was another important figure in the movement to improve conditions in asylums. She was an American activist, teacher, and writer who worked tirelessly in the early 19th century to expose the inhumane treatment of mentally ill individuals in the United States. Dix advocated for the establishment of state-funded mental hospitals and successfully lobbied for legislation to improve the conditions in asylums.
To find more information about these individuals and their contributions to the humanitarian movement to improve the conditions of insane asylums, you can refer to reputable sources such as books, scholarly articles, or reliable websites that focus on the history of mental health care reform. The link you provided is a PubMed abstract, which is a database for biomedical literature, and it may provide more detailed information about a specific aspect of the topic you are interested in. However, for a comprehensive understanding, it is advisable to consult additional sources as well.