GEG/ENV 3303 Health Geography: Course Introduction

Course Information

• The course is titled GEG/ENV 3303 Health Geography
• The professor is Dr. Aisha Giwa
• The teaching assistant is Kruti Mehta
• The first lecture date is on January 6th, 2025

Indigenous Affirmation

• Respect is paid to the Algonquin people, the traditional guardians of the land
• Their longstanding relationship with the unceded territory is acknowledged
• Respect is paid to all Indigenous people in the region from all nations across Canada who call Ottawa home
• Traditional knowledge keepers, both young and old are acknowledged
• Current and past courageous leaders are honored

Course Outline

• The course will cover an introduction to health geography
• The course will cover learning outcomes
• The course will cover assessment strategies
• The course will cover the concept of health
• The course will cover geographical concepts

Class logistics

• Shared spaces and individuals present should be respected
• Electronic devices should be put on silent or do not disturb
• Class attendance is not mandatory but arrival should be on time
• In case of emergency, or if leaving the class, take a seat at the periphery of the classroom
• Students are required to participate in group discussions

Course Learning Outcomes

• Understanding different social science and biomedical models of health is a principal learning objective
• Understanding theoretical approaches and methods used in health geography is a principal learning objective
• Understanding the roles of social, economic, environmental, health care, and other factors in determining health is a principal learning objective
• Understanding the changing global context of health is a principal learning objective
• Understanding patterns and trends in health care delivery is a principal learning objective
• Understanding factors affecting healthcare access and health outcomes across populations is a principal learning objective

Required Materials

• All learning materials and resources are to be provided via Brightspace in weekly lecture folders
• No additional costs for extra resources, textbooks, or course materials will be incurred
• Refer to the syllabus

Assessment Strategy

• There is a research assignment consisting of a paper, which weighs 15% and is due February 10, 2025
• There is a mid-term quiz consisting of multiple-choice, true/false, and short answer questions, weighing 20% and is due March 12, 2025
• A research assignment and group project consists of a paper, videos, and group presentation which weighs 25% and is due March 31, 2025
• The final exam is an in-person written exam with a weight of 40%, date TBD

Defining Health Geography

• Geography and health are intrinsically linked
• Health Geography studies the interaction between individuals and their surrounding environments
• Health geography views health from a perspective encompassing society and space
• Health geography conceptualizes the role of place, location, and geography in health, wellbeing, and disease

Location and Health

• Your health is dependent on the location where you live
• One is more likely to be at risk or become ill when living near a site disposing of hazardous waste
• The Flint Water Crisis in Detroit Michigan is an example, exposing individuals to water contaminated with lead and bacteria
• Location affects the treatments one may receive
• Location can affect the risk of disease or illness

Place and Life Expectancy

• Life expectancy measures how long an individual is expected to live
• Various alarming disparities are present in life expectancy

Defining Health

• "A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity"
• Shifts the focus from the state of complete well-being to the availability of resources that help achieve an individual's potential
• Social well-being is an important, often overlooked aspect

Illness and Disease

• Illness is a subjective experience, where patients suffer illnesses and doctors treat diseases
• Diseases are objective abnormalities in the function and/or structure of bodily organs and systems
• The objective disease aspect of cancer is characterized in all patients with uncontrollable cell division
• The study of disease in a population is epidemiology
• Data is collected on health through mortality (death) and morbidity (sickness, illness or disease)

Factors of Health

• Age-standardized rates are used to make comparisons as they account for differences in the age structure of populations
• Incidence rates are the number of new cases occurring within a given time interval
• Rates are expressed as a proportion of the number of people at risk from the disease
• In 2022, there was 1,833 new HIV diagnoses which is a 24.9% increase since 2021
• Prevalence rates are the number of people with the disease or illness at any one point in time
• It's estimated that 39.9 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2023

Disease

• Chronic diseases can be long-lasting, while acute diseases are short-term
• Infectious diseases are caused by organisms that can spread directly to each other, for example, COVID-19
• Impairment refers to the varying inability to physically or mentally function in a space
• Disability is a socially or culturally constructed form of exclusion

Geographical Concepts

• Location is a fixed 45°25'24.0"N 75°41'08.7"W
• Place is a meaning or emotion attached to a location
• Meanings of place and health can have culturally specific dimensions that are often overlooked, specifically towards First Nations people
• An example being a sweat lodge at East York's Michael Garron Hospital (MGH)

Measuring Distance

• Measuring the distance that separates places
• Measuring the distance of people from facilities delivering health care
• Measuring the distance of people are from a possible source of pollution
• Measuring the distance diseases spread
• Social distancing for COVID-19 involves keeping a 2meter or 6 foot distance from others

More on Measuring

• Consider spatial separation in terms of travel time, travel cost, or people's estimates of such separation (cognitive distance)
• Consider the social distance that separates people in terms of class, income, race, gender, or lifestyle
• Distance poses few barriers because of air travel especially during global epidemics like COVID-19, Ebola

Scale and Environment

• Scale can range from neighborhoods, cities, regions, countries, continents, and the globe
• Examples include COVID-19, Polio, and e-coli contamination in Alberta and Saskatchewan
• Time-scale matters just as much as spatial scale
• The environment is the sense of the physical world and how it impacts upon us
• An example of this is the closing of the Rideau Canal for winter Activities in 2023

Disease Ecology

• Disease ecology is understanding the distribution of a disease, particularly an infectious or parasitic one
• This is gained without knowing its relationship to local and regional ecologies, such as topography, climate, water, soils, plants, and animals