Yola Verhasselt

Health and development

Health and Development presents a broad and detailed description of the multifaceted aspects of health and development across the globe. People are living longer, their lifestyles are changing and so too are the diseases from which they suffer. Recession in the North and debt servicing in the South have reduced public expenditure on health and welfare. The links between regional, economic and environmental factors and the health of a population are becoming clearer. Does development mean a longer life of lower quality? Always alive to both the global and the local implications, the authors focus in particular on the critical issues surrounding environmental impact, the interaction of poverty and health, socio-cultural factors in HIV/AIDS transmission, the use of traditional and community health care resources and womens health.

Geography of health: Some trends and perspectives

The present evolution of geography of health is highlighted through a selection of recent publications. Some current research trends are listed, such as disease ecology in a changing environment, geography of AIDS, urbanization, epidemiological transition, health care delivery. The most salient future perspectives are pointed out.

Health, environment and development: issues in developing and transitional countries.

contributions of others in this special issue in the complex field of health, environment and development. It sets the context for the papers that follow in this collection. It is not, however, feasible to provide in a single paper a comprehensive overview of environment, health and development. Rather, the paper identifies a number of main issues and areas of concern. These include communicable and vector borne

The contribution and future development of spatial epidemiology

Abstract Methods of investigation have been greatly extended with widespread use of computer and statistical techniques. Nevertheless, field work and environmental knowledge remain essential. Improvement of the availability and of reliability of data would facilitate further research in spatial epidemiology.

Notes on geography and cancer

Abstract Attention is focused on some problems related to research in geography and cancer: availability and reliability of data, difficulty of explaining distribution patterns due essentially to interaction of risk factors and differences in local situations. Two examples illustrate multiplicity of causes: malignant neoplasm of oesophagus and of bowel. Finally the complexity of the urban environment is stressed.