Spatial Accessibility
2023-7-19
Quantitative Evaluation of Spatial Accessibility of Various Urban Medical Services Based on Big Data of Outpatient Appointments
This study refined the two-step floating catchment area method to evaluate healthcare accessibility in Xiamen, China by considering population age structure and types of medical services.
Abstract:
Equity of urban medical services affects human health and well-being in cities and is important in building ‘just’ cities. We carried out a quantitative analysis of the spatial accessibility of medical services considering the diverse demands of people of different ages, using outpatient appointment big data and refining the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method. We used the traditional 2SFCA method to evaluate the overall spatial accessibility of medical services of 504 communities in Xiamen city, considering the total population and the supply of medical resources. Approximately half the communities had good access to medical services. The communities with high accessibility were mainly on Xiamen Island, and those with low accessibility were further from the central city. The refined 2SFCA method showed a more diverse and complex spatial distribution of accessibility to medical services. Overall, 209 communities had high accessibility to internal medicine services, 133 to surgery services, 50 to gynecology and obstetrics services, and 18 to pediatric services. The traditional method may over-evaluate or under-evaluate the accessibility of different types of medical services for most communities compared with the refined evaluation method. Our study can provide more precise information on urban medical service spatial accessibility to support just city development and design.
Summary:
- Study evaluated spatial accessibility of healthcare services in Xiamen, China using refined two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method
- Traditional 2SFCA uses total population and resources to represent supply and demand
- Refined 2SFCA considers population age structure and different types of medical services
- Demand calculated using prevalence data for different age groups and service types
- Supply calculated from outpatient appointment data by department and hospital
- Traditional method found about half of communities had high overall accessibility, concentrated on Xiamen Island
- Refined method showed more complex spatial patterns for different service types
- Internal medicine: 41% high access, surgery: 26% high access, gynecology: 10% high access, pediatrics: 4% high access
- Traditional method over- or under-estimated accessibility for most communities compared to refined method
- Refined 2SFCA provides more precise data to improve healthcare accessibility and equity
Study questions and answers:
| Study Questions | Answers |
|---|---|
| What was refined in the 2SFCA method? | Considering population age structure and types of medical services |
| How was demand calculated in the refined 2SFCA? | Using prevalence data for different age groups and service types |
| How was supply calculated? | From outpatient appointment data by department and hospital |
| What did the traditional 2SFCA find about overall accessibility? | About half of communities had high accessibility, concentrated on Xiamen Island |
| How did the refined 2SFCA results differ by service type? | Varied spatial patterns for different services like internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics |
| How did traditional vs. refined methods compare? | Traditional method over- or under-estimated accessibility for most communities |
| How can the refined method help healthcare planning? | Provides more precise data to improve accessibility and equity |