Health and Medical Geography

by Emch, Michael; Root, Elisabeth Dowling; Carrel, Margaret

• ISBN13: 9781462520060
• ISBN10: 1462520065
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2017-02-20
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

Why are rainfall, carcinogens, and primary care physicians distributed unevenly over space? The fourth edition of the leading text in the field has been updated and reorganized to cover the latest developments in disease ecology and health promotion across the globe. The book accessibly introduces the core questions and perspectives of health and medical geography and presents cutting-edge techniques of mapping and spatial analysis. It explores the intersecting genetic, ecological, behavioral, cultural, and socioeconomic processes that underlie patterns of health and disease in particular places, including how new diseases and epidemics emerge. Geographic dimensions of health care access and service provision are addressed. More than 100 figures include 16 color plates; most are available as PowerPoint slides at the companion website.
 
New to This Edition:
*Chapters on the political ecology of health; emerging infectious diseases and landscape genetics; food, diet, and nutrition; and urban health.
*Coverage of Middle East respiratory syndrome, Ebola, and Zika; impacts on health of global climate change; contaminated water crises in economically developed countries, including in Flint, Michigan; China's rapid industrial growth; and other timely topics.
*Updated throughout with current data and concepts plus advances in GIS.
 
Pedagogical Features:
*End-of-chapter review questions and suggestions for further reading.
*Section Introductions that describe each chapter.
*"Quick Reviews"--within-chapter recaps of key concepts.
*Bold-faced key terms and an end-of-book glossary.
 

Author Biography

Michael Emch, PhD, is Professor and Chair of Geography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). He is also Professor of Epidemiology at UNC and a Fellow of the Carolina Population Center, and directs the Spatial Health Research Group. He has published widely in the subfield of disease ecology, mostly on infectious diseases of the tropical world. He is an Associate Editor of Health & Place and an advisory editor for the international journal Social Science and Medicine.
 
Elisabeth Dowling Root, PhD, is Associate Professor of Geography at The Ohio State University. She is also Associate Professor of Epidemiology in the College of Public Health and a research affiliate at the Institute for Population Research. Her work evaluates the short- and long-term impacts of public health interventions--including vaccination campaigns, maternal and child health and family planning programs, and health systems changes--in low-income countries. She is also interested in the long-term effects of neighborhood social and structural environments on child and adolescent health.
 
Margaret Carrel, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences at the University of Iowa. She is also Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in the College of Public Health. She focuses primarily on the geography of infectious disease, with emphasis on how human-environment interactions influence the evolution of pathogens. Her research has examined avian influenza, drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, HIV, and malaria.

Table of Contents

I. Introduction and Big Ideas
1. What Is Health and Medical Geography?
What’s in a Name?
A Brief History of Health and Medical Geography
Definitions and Terminology
The Challenge of Health Geography
References
Review Questions
2. Ecology of Health and Disease
Disease Agents and Transmission Processes
The Triangle of Human Ecology
Landscape Epidemiology and Vectored Diseases
Conclusion
References
Review Questions
3. Expanding Disease Ecology
Political Ecology
The Poverty Syndrome
Race in the Study of Health Risks
Gender and Sex: Women’s Health
Causal Reasoning and Epidemiological Design
HIV and AIDS: Gender, Mobility, and Political Ecology
The Precautionary Principle and Some Political Ecology of Research
Conclusion
References
Review Questions
4. Transitions and Development
Ecologies of Population Change: Multiple Transitions
Major Impacts of Population Change
Environmental Exposures, the Mobility Transition, and Time–Space Geography
Disease Ecologies of the Agricultural Frontier
Other Development Impacts on Rural Ecologies
Globalization of Movements
Conclusion: Emerging Diseases in Your Future
References
Review Questions
II. Maps and Methods
5. Maps, GIS, and Spatial Analysis
Cartography of Health and Disease
Geographic Information Systems
Spatial Statistics
Conclusion
References
Review Questions
6. Disease Diffusion
Diffusion Background
Epidemiological Background
Types of Diffusion
Networks and Barriers
Modeling Disease Diffusion
Influenzas
Conclusion
References
Review Questions
7. Emerging Infectious Diseases and Landscape Genetics
What’s in a Name? Emerging, Reemerging, or Always There
Why Do Diseases Emerge, Reemerge, or Persist?
Where Can We Expect These Diseases to Emerge/Reemerge?
How Will These Diseases Behave?
Landscape Genetics
Conclusion
References
Review Questions
III. What We Eat and Where We Live
8. Food, Diet, and the Nutrition Transition
From Hunter-Gatherers to Farmers
The Columbian Exchange
Modern Agricultural Systems
The Green Revolution
The Nutritional Transition
Commercial Agriculture and the Nutrition Transition
Direct and Indirect Health Effects of Agricultural and Dietary Changes
Conclusion
References
Review Questions
9. Neighborhoods and Health
The Concept of Neighborhood Health
Social Context and Health
Effects of the Built Environment on Health
Opportunities and Challenges in Neighborhood Effects Studies
Conclusion
References
Review Questions
10. Urban Health
Cities and Urbanization
A Brief History of Cities
Large Cities in the Modern Era
Developing World Cities: Dickens or a Dream?
Traffic
Disappearing Cities?
Conclusion
References
Review Questions
IV. Environments and Climates
11. Environment and Health
Toxic Hazards
Outdoor Air Pollution
Indoor Air Pollution
Water Pollution
Sources and Health Effects of Lead
Risk Assessment and Prevention
Globalization and the Perception of Health Hazards
Hazards, Power, Policy, and Environmental Justice
Healthy Environments
Conclusion
References
Review Questions
12. Climate and Health
Direct Biometeorological Influences
The Influences of the Weather
Seasonality of Death and Birth
Physical Zonation of Climates and Biomes
Climate Change and Health
Conclusion
References
Review Questions
V. Health Care and Final Thoughts
13. Health Services and Access to Care
What Is Access?
The Provision of Medical Care
Cultural Alternatives and Perceptions
Conclusion: Transforming the Health Service Landscape
References
Review Questions
14. Concluding Words
Review Questions
Glossary