传统医学地理学研究从自然生态学角度出发,着重探讨自然环境对人类身体健康的影响。随着社会经济的发展,自然环境对人类健康的作用逐渐减小,社会文化环境成为影响人类健康,特别是城市居民身体健康的主要因素。本文回顾了20世纪70年代社会文化转型以来,医学地理学研究的重点转向以社会文化视角探究社会文化环境对人们身体健康,特别是心理健康的影响,以及医学地理学向一门新的健康地理学转变的过程,并梳理了新的健康地理学理论和研究内容的变化,总结了当前学科存在的一些问题,最后对新时期我国健康地理学的发展提出了展望。

Medical Geography can be seen as the application of geographical theory of the study of health, disease and medical care. The geographical study of Medical Geography has long existed. As the productive forces develop, the concerns of psychological and mental health of human being are gradually emphasized by Medical Geography. In 1970s "Science Rationalism" of Human Geography is questioned and the "Neo Humanistic Geography" rises, which advocates finding out real "regional differences" and change the "rationalism" of geography with socio-cultural views, so as to achieve humanism. This brings about the socio-cultural turn of Human Geography. In this trend the traditional Medical Geography begins its transformation to "Health Geography", which mainly concerns about health and health care. The transforming of Medical Geography into Health Geography mainly behaves on two aspects: theory and method, and research contents. Health Geography emphasizes the application of the theory of place, which includes two parts: 1) the influence of the social environment of community and location the pressure caused by them on human health; 2) the effects of the construction of health care locations on the formation of residents' sense of place. The borrowing of multi-discipline theories is the other of the theory change. The emphasis of qualitative method instead of traditional quantitative method can be seen as the most important methodological change. The change of research contents includes: 1) the social and spatial equality concern of health; 2) effects of urban community (neighborhood) environment on human health; 3) concern about disadvantaged people, which include women and minority races; 4) questioning and criticizing government's health policy; 5) the research of health tourism. Learning from the abroad development, Health Geography in China should pay attention to following aspects: 1) the construction of health care facilities in community must put emphasis on the formation of residents' sense of place; 2) equality should be reached in the distribution of health care facility in communities; 3) the combination of qualitative methods and quantitative methods would be more effective.