General practice--a quantitative study, 2. Spatial and temporal variation in morbidity

Against the backcloth of te quantitative picture of general practice activity described in the companion paper (Beaumont and Pike, Ecol. Dis. 2, 45, 1983), the question of health-environment interaction is addressed. To this end morbidity analyses of a number of environmentally distinct sub-areas of the general practice facilitate investigation of the geography of morbidity at the primary care level. Despite the inherent spatial variations in environmental conditions within the practice, no significant environmental effect or morbidity is identifiable; even in the most deprived areas minimum sanitary conditions are fulfilled.