Module overview
Health and the provision of health care are important issues in our everyday lives. Many of the debates surrounding health are inherently spatial in nature and as such geographers are well placed to play an important role in informing research and providing evidence for decision making. This module aims to develop an in-depth understanding of the concepts, methods and applications involved in evaluating links between the environment and health. In this context, we define ‘environment’ in its broadest sense, incorporating aspects of the natural, built, social, economic and cultural environment, all of which we argue have a potentially important role to play in determining our health. In this module, we focus particularly on aspects of the built, social and economic environment, employing predominantly quantitative approaches to the study of environment and health. By the end of the module, students should be able to critically evaluate contemporary developments in health from a geographical perspective.