Rican S, Salem G, Jougla E
Institut Santé et Développement, Paris.
Rev Epidemiol Sante Publique. 1999 Oct;47(5):411-20.
It is important to choose a valid spatial scale to study health differences in a geographical perspective. Many scales can be valid and a combination is required to understand the spatial distribution of a given health problem. Geographic distribution of lung cancer was studied in France using different scales to illustrate the importance of changing scales in health geography.
Standardized rates (direct method) for lung cancer were calculated for the period 1988-92 and mapped at different scales.
Original spatial structure was observed for each scale. This proved that different interactions occur at each scale between environmental and social factors. Changing the scale allowed a better understanding of variations in the spatial distribution of lung cancer.
The validity of a regional scale to study health geographical distributions is questioned. Changing the scale would allow proposing action to improve health promotion.
从地理学角度研究健康差异时，选择有效的空间尺度很重要。许多尺度可能都是有效的，需要综合运用多种尺度才能理解特定健康问题的空间分布。本研究在法国采用不同尺度对肺癌的地理分布进行了研究，以说明在健康地理学中改变尺度的重要性。
计算了1988 - 1992年期间肺癌的标准化发病率（直接法），并在不同尺度上绘制地图。
在每个尺度上都观察到了原始的空间结构。这证明了环境因素和社会因素在每个尺度上都会发生不同的相互作用。改变尺度有助于更好地理解肺癌空间分布中的差异。
区域尺度在研究健康地理分布方面的有效性受到质疑。改变尺度有助于提出促进健康的行动建议。
