Integrating Geography and Social Epidemiology in Drug Abuse Research

Abstract

This chapter discusses connections between place, environment, and health, and how geographic tools and methods can help better understand the nature of these associations. Ongoing collaborations between the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Association of American Geographers (AAG) exemplify this integrated perspective. NIDA’s commitment to understanding the social epidemiology of drug abuse and the AAG’s emphasis on integrating geography and geographic methodology into the public health equation have provided opportunities for unique and innovative approaches to understanding drug abuse, drug addiction, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS. This chapter discusses the recent NIDA/AAG Geography and Drug Addiction Symposium, from which this book originated, and provides examples of how researchers included in this book are beginning to use geographic methods to explore aspects of the social environment, which are central to drug abuse research. A brief précis of the chapters of this book is also included.