Geomedical systems: intervention and control

The aim is to provide a source book that promotes the application of systems ideas to the understanding of problems in medical geography. The book covers three major types of geomedical systems. The first part deals with epidemic forecasting models. There are aspatial discussions of carrier-borne disease (turberculosis), vectored diseases (malaria), cancers with some evidence of transmission, and AIDS. Space is then included in the models with an analysis of the global spread of influenza, and there is an account of how statistical models can be used in forecasting and control. The second part is concerned with chronic disease; attention focuses on developing reliable procedures for identifying disease clusters which is exemplified by an analysis of childhood cancers around nuclear installations. The final part concerns socio-economic models of health-care delivery systems and their role in promoting efficiency and equality. A final chapter justifies this quantitative systems approach with the argument that successful prediction equates with explanation. -K.Jones