I am applying to the doctoral program in Geography at the University of Iowa because of my interest in the relationships among geography, poverty and health care. In my work with the United States Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency, I realized that economic disparity is geographically distributed, typically clustered in disadvantaged communities. While working within the University of Virginia Department of Family Medicine, I learned that these disparities manifest in ways that adversely affect the overall health of those communities, often in ways that compound those socioeconomic conditions. Growing up in rural Missouri, I experienced these conditions first-hand and, in retrospect, was able to realize their impact on community health. I am interested in formally continuing an academic career dedicated to these subjects.
After consideration of my current goals, to make a contribution to the science of Geography and be an expert in the Geography of Health as a tenure-track faculty member at a leading university, I have realized that my Masters in Geographic and Cartographic Science does not allow me the freedom or skills I need to pursue the work I aspire to do. Admission to your doctoral program would enable an expansion of the academic work I began while working as a GIS Specialist at the University of Virginia. This work was invaluable to me in terms of gaining an understanding of the complexities associated with geographic information technologies for health-related geographical research.
Furthermore, it provided an opportunity to question the phenomenon that Health Geography is particularly suited to address: where we live affects health on the individual, community, and national level. Just as individual diseases have ripple effects throughout the human body in various organ systems; each community has characteristics that affect the health of the community body. I hope to build on the existing knowledge about the effects of health and poverty and advance them using geographic information technologies to both visualize and analyze these effects.
Additionally, I am interested in the theory, tools, and methods for disease surveillance and epidemiological research. I want to advance the science of disease mapping, cluster analysis, and the detection of underlying contextual associations of health and disease. I would like to refine my understanding of methodological considerations, including geocoding bias and addressing the spatial dependencies associated with geographically aggregated data. I would also like to build my expertise in advanced statistical analysis including geographically weighted regression, Monte Carlo simulation algorithms, and analysis multi-scalar geographic data.
Beyond a general approach to the Geography of Health and its methodological considerations, I am interested in policy-oriented research to improve access to health care. One facet I find particularly suited to doctoral research is the distribution of health care in terms of facilities and access to health insurance. Health care facilities, whether primary care or emergency services, are inherently geographical. Using geodemographic variables, we can analyze the current distribution and recommend optimal locations for future facilities to improve the overall health of these communities. Considering that access to health insurance is dependent on the socioeconomics of a community, its geographic components are easily overlooked. However, a lack of health insurance should be a factor in qualifying a community as medically underserved.
I discovered Professor Gerard Rushton’s research in Health Geographics and found similarities in research interests, particularly in terms of cancer mapping, the role of GIS and spatial statistics in health related research, and impacts of geocoding patient-level data. I hope that he would find me an effective contributing member of his research team. Beyond my desire to work with Professor Rushton, I discovered a variety of interesting research agendas amongst the departmental faculty members. For example, Professor Marc Armstrong’s work in the infrastructural geography of ubiquitous computing might play an important role in current Federal policy agendas to increase funding for telemedicine and health informatics. As someone interested in Geographical Education, I would enjoy working with Professor Claire Pavlik’s team and seeing her teaching methods using GIS as an instructional technology for studying societal characteristics while simultaneously using urban geography case studies to teach GIS. I have considered a similar teaching method for use in a World Geography classroom.
I am a skilled demographer, statistician and GIS specialist with an interest in all facets of Human Geography. I primarily consider myself a Geographer, but also think of myself as an educator. I have discovered that teaching fuels my intellectual curiosity in that it provides an opportunity to share my love of Geography and be revitalized by eager learners. If any teaching opportunities are available, please keep me in mind.
When I complete my doctorate, I hope to build a career as a recognized contributor to the science of Geography and an expert in the Geography of Health as a tenure-track faculty member at a leading university. I have evaluated the University of Iowa as the institution best suited to my career goals. Thank you for considering me as a candidate for your program.
