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GEG-30049 - Module Specification
School of Life Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences

For academic year: 2026/27 Last Updated: 16 September 2026

GEG-30049 - Health in context: well-being, place and inequality
Coordinator: Clare Holdsworth Tel: +44 1782 7 33167
Lecture Time:
Level: Level 6
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 734414

Programme/Approved Electives for 2026/27

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2026/27

In this module, you will explore how health is shaped by the social, environmental and spatial conditions of the places we live, work and move through. You will examine how inequalities in health are produced through geography, while also investigating how place can actively support wellbeing, belonging and everyday experience.
Through interactive lectures, seminars and workshops, you will engage with real-world data, case studies and creative approaches to understanding health in context. You will combine analytical skills with reflective and creative methods to explore how place shapes both inequality and wellbeing in everyday life.
This module will help you develop the ability to interpret health data, think critically about place, and communicate ideas through both academic and creative forms, supporting pathways into health, planning, environment and related fields.

Aims
This module critically examines the relationship between health, wellbeing and place. It explores how geographical contexts produce patterns of health inequality, and how place can also act as a resource for health and wellbeing. Drawing on geographical approaches to health, wellbeing and inequality, students will analyse how spatial, social and environmental processes shape both the distribution of ill-health and the possibilities for healthy lives.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Critically evaluate key theories and concepts relating to health, wellbeing and place: 1,2
Analyse how geographical context and population composition contribute to the production of health inequalities in different places: 2
Explain and interpret how place can support health and wellbeing through environments, nature and lived experience: 1
Interpret and use secondary data to investigate spatial patterns of health and wellbeing: 2
Reflect on the role of creative approaches in exploring the relationships between place, health and wellbeing: 1

Study hours

Interactive lecture: 18
Seminar: 8
Workshop: 4
Structured engagement with online resources: 10
Guided independent study: 40
Preparation for assessments: 70

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Project weighted 50%
Creative and reflective examination of well-being and place
Students will produce a creative and reflective project exploring how a place or places shape individual or collective wellbeing. The work will demonstrate understanding of key concepts of wellbeing and engage creatively with the role of place in shaping these experiences. Students may draw on a range of media (e.g. visual, audio, narrative, photographic or mixed-format), accompanied by a reflective commentary (1500 words).

2: Report weighted 50%
Report on Health Inequalities and Place
Students will prepare a report investigating health inequalities within a specific place of their choice from a selection discussed with the module manager. The report will analyse the contribution of social, environmental and spatial factors to observed disparities in health outcomes, drawing on quantitative and/or qualitative evidence as appropriate. Word count: 2000 words.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 16 September 2026