Medical Geography, Third Edition

Book info: Medical Geography, Third Edition (Hardcover, 498 pages) – The Guilford Press, 2010. Language: English.

The leading text in the field, this comprehensive book reviews geographic approaches to studying disease and public health issues across the globe. It presents cutting-edge techniques of spatial and social analysis and explores their relevance for understanding cultural and political ecology, disease systems, and health promotion. Essential topics include how new diseases emerge and epidemics develop in particular places; the intersecting influences on health of biological processes, culture, environment, and behavior; and the changing landscape of health care planning and service delivery. The text is richly illustrated with tables, figures, and maps, including 16 color plates.

Editorial Reviews Review "The third edition of this classic text is now even more accessible, and is a 'must have' for all interested in medical geography. In addition to the traditional disease ecology and environmental themes, the text presents exciting new information on current issues of concern such as globalization, disease, and development. It offers the finest treatment of the medical geography of developmental changes that I have seen. The text is ideal for medical geography, public health, and environmental health courses, as well as the burgeoning number of courses focusing on interdisciplinary and health issues."--Joseph R. Oppong, Department of Geography, University of North Texas  "With new chapters on GIS and neighborhoods and health, and an expanded chapter on spatial analysis, the third edition of this enduring text builds on the strengths of prior editions. The vignettes have been scaled back to focus on important ones that offer students key analytical tools and skills. Meade and Emch have provided an absolutely superb textbook that will deepen our understanding of what medical geography really is and how it promotes health and well-being. Instructors and students will find the book refreshing and easy to read and use. Health science researchers without prior knowledge of GIS and geospatial analysis will find it an excellent entry point for analyzing health-related data geographically."--Ezekiel Kalipeni, Department of Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "This classic text has been the mainstay of Medical Geography classes in the United States for the last 10 years. The third edition contains several welcome updates, especially the sections on GIS and spatial analysis. This is one of the few texts that synthesize many different areas of health and medical geography. Coverage ranges from spatial epidemiology to service delivery, and from densely packed urban environments to impoverished rural areas. The chapters and vignettes make for excellent discussions, giving students enough information to understand the importance and uniqueness of geographic perspectives on health."--Andrew Curtis, Department of Geography, University of Southern California About the Author

Melinda S. Meade, until her death in 2013, was Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she had been a faculty member since 1978. She was also Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology, a member of the Institute of Environment, and a fellow of the Carolina Population Center. In addition to the first through third editions of Medical Geography, Dr. Meade published journal articles on the disease ecology of tropical Asia and the United States. She was a member of the Association of American Geographers and other geographic, Asian studies, and population associations. An award in her name is given annually by the Health and Medical Geography Speciality Group of the Association of American Geographers.

Michael Emch, a medical geographer, is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs the Spatial Health Research Group. He is also Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology and a fellow of the Carolina Population Center. Dr. Emch has published journal articles on disease ecology, primarily of infectious diseases of the tropical world. He is a member of the Association of American Geographers and is also an advisory editor for the international journal Social Science and Medicine.