Policy-oriented Studies in British Medical and Health Geography Since the 1980s

Human geography’s contributions in policy arenas have long been discussed within the discipline. Although policy (re) turn debates emerged after the late 1990s, the author suggests it is important to examine not only the current situation of policy-oriented geographical studies, but also their long-term development and evolution. In this paper, the author traces and analyzes policy-oriented studies in British medical and health geography since the 1980s, when quantitative and policy science approaches came to be severely criticized and various alternative approaches developed in British geography.