Main description:

Originally published in 1987 this textbook is a comprehensive introduction to the rapidly developing field of medical geography. It illustrates the ideas, methods and debates that inform contemporary approaches to the subject, demonstrating the potential of a social and environmental approach to illness and health. The central theme is the need to reject an exclusively biological approach to health. The authors examine both the geography of health care and outline a selection of health service planning initiatives in both North America and Europe.

Contents:

1. The Social Context of Disease, Health and Medicine 2. The Collection of Epidemiological Information 3. The Causal Analysis of Epidemiological Data 5. Communicable Diseases 5. Concepts and Issues in Mental Illness 6. Inequalities in Health Care 7. Explaining Health Care Inequality 8. Planning, Policy and the Health Services 9. Critical Perspectives.