GEOG 256 - Medical Geography

This course examines the geographical dimensions of health and disease, including global and domestic public health issues. Key approaches and themes include the human ecology approach to health; epidemiological mapping and spatial analysis; environmental health, including the environmental causes of cancer; the relationship among demographic change, economic development, and population health; the political economy of non-communicable health problems, such as lead poisoning and the “obesity epidemic”; the spatial diffusion of infectious diseases; the disease ecology approach to infectious and vector-borne diseases, e.g. malaria, West Nile virus, and Lyme disease; and the challenges of “global health” in the 21st century, with special emphasis on “emerging infectious diseases,” such as HIV/AIDS, SARS, and Avian influenza. (4 Credits)