Geographies of health : an introduction

This text shows how health may be studied from geographical perspectives and reviews a wide range of studies linking health outcomes with social and physical environments. The structure of the book is designed to guide the reader through the relevant theoretical perspectives, methodologies, and research. It opens with definitions of health and an explanation of how they relate to geography, followed by illustrations of the different theoretical approaches employed. There is also a comprehensive overview of quantitative and qualitative methods. Research is then considered in two broad areas: first, the ways in which social processes operate in space to produce inequalities in health and health provision; second, the ways in which human modification of the environment (including air and water quality, and global environmental change) impacts upon health. The text is supported by current examples of research in a range of geographical settings. Pedagogical features include text boxes, directed further reading at the end of each chapter, a comprehensive bibliography and a guide to useful Internet resources. Anthony Gatrell has produced a website to accompany his book. Please visit this at http://www.lancs.ac.uk/users/ihr/gatrell/geohealth.html