Space, place & the evidence-base

1. Space, place & the evidence-base

2. Structure • An introduction to geographical inquiry in the health sciences • The key concepts: space & place • Theoretical arguments • Relationship to ‘professional environment’ • Examples of typical geographical questions and issues • The production and uptake of geographical evidence for practice

3. Introduction:scales and issues • The gendering of healthcare settings (3 - studies) • Spatial and ethical issues (11) • Workforce and workplace (12) • Spatial issues in evidence (5) • Position papers (6)

4. Key concepts • Space (macro and geometrical) • Place • Space (micro social)

5. Theoretical justification: change, work & place intersect in: • Emerging settings for care • Traditional institutions • Everyday work interactions

6. The metaparadigm of professional environment • External to professionals • Interaction between internal and external phenomenon • Co-existing Internal and external

7. Key differences: geographical inquiry V professional environment in research: • Professional environment is often implicit and partially examined • Professional environment is often spaceless and placeless • Professional environment draws heavily on psychology

8. Potential fields of geographic inquiry: • Spatial accessibility and utilization • Spatial features of disease • Spatial features of neighbourhood and community • The commercialization of places for healthcare • Spatial features of labourforce and production • Designs and divisions in places for healthcare • Cyberspaces in healthcare

9. Evidence for practice • Research that directly compares place effects (e.g. RCTs + qual & quan) • The qualitative deconstruction of place effects on RCT outcomes • Contributing geographical evidence; rethinking contexts as places; placing facilitators (PARIHS)

10. Conclusion