An Introduction to the Geography of Health

In the second edition of An Introduction to the Geography of Health, Helen Hazen and Peter Anthamatten explore the ways in which geographic ideas and approaches can inform our understanding of health. The book’s focus on a broad range of physical and social factors that drive health in places and spaces offers students and scholars an important holistic perspective on the study of health in the modern era. In this edition, the authors have restructured the book to emphasize the theoretical significance of ecological and social approaches to health. Spatial methods are now reinforced throughout the book, and other qualitative and quantitative methods are discussed in greater depth. Data and examples are used extensively to illustrate key points and have been updated throughout, including several new extended case studies such as water contamination in Flint, Michigan; microplastics pollution; West Africa’s Ebola crisis; and the Zika epidemic. The book contains more than one hundred figures, including new and updated maps, data graphics, and photos. The book is designed to be used as the core text for a health geography course for undergraduate and lower-level graduate students and is relevant to students of biology, medicine, entomology, social science, urban planning, and public health.

Table of Contents:
1 Introduction Section I Ecological Approaches to Human Health Introduction: Ecological Approaches to Human Health 2 Ecological Approaches to Human Health 3 Population-scale Processes: Demographic Change and the Evolution of Pathogens and Vectors 4 Environmental Change and Emerging Infectious Diseases 5 Environmental Exposures 6 Cartography and Geospatial Science in Health Section II Social Approaches to Health and Healthcare Introduction: Social Approaches to Health and Healthcare 7 Socioeconomic Environments 8 Culture and Identity 9 Power and Politics of Health 10 Geographies of Healthcare 11 Integrating Approaches to the Study of the Geography of Health: Policymaking from Geographic Perspectives Glossary Index

About the Author :
Helen Hazen is a broadly trained geographer, who focuses on issues of health and environment. She is currently a teaching associate professor at the University of Denver, USA, where she teaches classes on health and sustainability, as well as other aspects of geography. Peter Anthamatten studied geography and public health as a graduate student and is currently an associate professor at the University of Colorado, Denver, USA. His research interests are primarily around the geography of health, with a focus on children’s behavioral and nutritional environments, but he also enjoys working on geographic education. Peter teaches the geography of health, cartography, and spatial statistics.

Review :
"This marvelous new edition of An Introduction to the Geography of Health is nothing less than a field guide to the world through the lens of health and medical geography. As human geographers, Hazen and Anthamatten grapple with the diversity of global societies, the complex drivers of inequalities in health, and the intricate ecologies of health and disease. The new edition is updated with valuable discussion of climate change and health, the 2014 Ebola fever epidemic in West Africa, the Flint water crisis, and the US opioid epidemic, while also incorporating advances in theory and method in the field of health and medical geography. Drawing on success stories from New Zealand, Costa Rica, and dozens of other countries, the book explains how a geographic sensibility—based on the careful appraisal of, and adaptation to, local social and environmental conditions—can lead to effective and equitable health policy. The inviting and highly readable text is accompanied by over 100 illustrations, including photographs, well-designed maps, and helpful diagrams and charts, many in color. In all, the book makes for an excellent companion to an undergraduate course in health and medical geography, a useful reference source, and an outstanding survey of public health issues all around the world." - Eric Carter, Edens Associate Professor of Geography and Global Health, Macalester College, USA "I am so delighted with the updated edition of Hazen and Anthamatten’s ‘An Introduction to the Geography of Health’, given the addition of new material reflective of both new and emerging events, such as the Zika virus and mental health patterns, respectively. I continue to use this text in my courses for three reasons: the breadth of contemporary applied material representative of the sub-discipline, the international coverage, and the range of current methodological approaches employed. I look forward to hearing positive student feedback on this new edition!" - Allison Williams, Professor & Research Chair, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada