Medical Geography

I am a PhD student in Medical Geography...wait for it...

What is that?

I get this question almost 100% of the time I tell people what I am studying. I even get this question from doctors, nurses and other medical professionals.

One formal definition of medical geography or geomedicine is...

"The branch of medicine dealing with the effect of geography on disease." (source)

Another more complex description is...

"Medical geography studies the effects of locale and climate upon health. It aims to improve the understanding of the various factors which affect the health of populations and hence individuals. It is also called health geographics. The idea that place and location may influence health is not exactly new." (source)

So, let me ask you this question. Do you think that were you live has an impact on your health?

I can guarantee you that it does!!! It has been said that where you live (your zip code) has a greater impact on your health than your genetic code.

It has also been said that "Geography is destiny in medicine". - Jack Lord, MD

So why has nobody ever heard of Medical Geography or Geomedicine? Although it has been known for years that where you live has an impact on your health, it is a fairly new discipline in academia. It is not purely public health or epidemiology and it is not purely geography and spatial analysis. Geomedicine is a hybrid of the two disciplines. It requires an understanding of public health as well as the spatial analysis tools and skills of a geographer. Fascinating isn't it!

So, after saying all of that in response to the question "What is that?" I find that people are suddenly very curious and want to know more and talk for hours about their health and their family member who lived in North Salt Lake and was exposed to all the oil refineries and had numerous medical conditions, etc.

So what do I want to accomplish with a PhD in Medical Geography?

I want to improve public health by locating the environmental factors that are causing health problems in the areas around us. I want to improve access to primary care in rural areas and do research and write papers that influence policy and legislation with the end goal in mind of improving health. I want to find the areas with the most poor health and figure out what is happening and how the trends can be reversed.

Basically, I want to do research that makes a difference and changes lives, not sits in a library and collects dust.