I just returned from the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, held this year in Detroit , Michigan. The several research sessions devoted to population-environment scholarship include:
Environment and Health
Economic Crises, Natural Disasters and Population Well-being
Population and Environmental Change
Environmental Exposures, Social Context and Reproductive Health
Anthropogenic Environmental Change
The overall quality of the research in this area has improved dramatically over the past decade and, as well, the sessions were very well attended – suggesting demographers are increasingly perhaps interested in considering the environmental dimensions.
Still, the PAA Presidential Address, offered by Kathleen Harris of UNC-Chapel Hill focused on the need for integrative health research incorporating social, behavioral, psychological and biological dimensions – with no explicit emphasis on environmental aspects. My concern is that mistaken conclusions may be drawn without consideration of these important dimensions – with policy recommendations/implications therefore also potentially missing key determinants of health.
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