Beyond foodscapes: considering geographies of Indigenous well-being.

Direct associations between food and health have been pursued traditionally through nutrition and health policy studies; however, geography has much to offer in providing a disciplinary context that can support a critique of this literature and the recognition of the critical significance of broader associations between culture, environment and well-being. This paper explores the potential of these opportunities by reviewing existing interests in food geographies and the wider attention being given to geographies of health and well-being. We then turn to consider dimensions of Indigenous life, health and well-being and we highlight the complex intersection of people, place and 'nature-culture' relations.

Access to rural health services: research as community action and policy critique.

Although access to rural health services has been an enduring focus for a variety of scholars, little has been recorded about the intersection between health service policy, provision and access experiences. This paper identifies how community action can highlight the gaps between policy rhetoric and access experiences. Taking the case of rural New Zealand, we document how a community organisation Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) completed a national survey as a form of community action.

"It's your whole way of life really": negotiating work, health and gender.

Recent discussions in contemporary geographies of health have highlighted the need to understand the social contexts in which people experience health and illness. Qualitative and mixed method studies have been shown to be invaluable to such research, especially where investigations seek to understand the circumstances and responses surrounding particular conditions. In this paper, we move beyond biomedical approaches to combine methods in health research and gain insights into the complex contexts and relations affecting men's and women's respiratory health.

Converging paradigms for environmental health theory and practice.

Converging themes from the fields of environmental health, ecology and health, and human ecology highlight opportunities for innovation and advancement in environmental health theory and practice. In this commentary we outline the role of research and applied programs that integrate biophysical and social sciences with environmental health practice in order to address deficiencies in each field when taken on its own. New opportunities for environmental health protection and promotion are outlined based on the three converging themes: integrated approaches to research and policy, methodological acknowledgment of the synergies between the social and biophysical environments, and incorporation of core ecosystem principles into research and practice.