GEOGRAPHY & GIS

The study of health geography has a long history stretching back to 1854, when Dr. John Snow mapped cholera outbreaks in London. Computers and geographical information science have since revolutionized health geography, which may be broadly defined as the application of geographical methods to understand human heath. Researchers now routinely use multiple types of data, and expansive data sets to untangle the complex issues surrounding human health. For example, Prof. Sara L. McLafferty, Head of the Department of Geography & GIS, investigates place-baced inequalities manifest in health and access to health services for U.S. minorities and women. To learn more about health geography research in SESE, visit the faculty profiles below.