Euthenics
![Ellen Swallow Richards, the first female student and instructor at MIT.](/Images/godic/202501/12/Ellen_Swallow_Richards4144.jpg")
![Julia Clifford Lathrop as the first chief of the U.S. Children's Bureau.](/Images/godic/202501/12/Julia_Clifford_Lathrop_first_chief_US_Childrens_Bureau4144.jpg")
![Lester Frank Ward](/Images/godic/202501/12/ЛестерФВорд4144.jpeg")
![Abraham Flexner, c. 1895.](/Images/godic/202501/12/Aflexner214144.jpg")
Euthenics /juːˈθɛnɪks/ is the study of the improvement of human functioning and well-being by improvement of living conditions. Affecting the "improvement" through altering external factors such as education and the controllable environment, including the prevention and removal of contagious disease and parasites, environmentalism, education regarding employment, home economics, sanitation, and housing.