Spatial Accessibility
2023-7-18
Spatial Accessibility and Equity Evaluation of Medical Facilities Based on Improved 2SFCA: A Case Study in Xi’an, China
This paper examines limitations in current methods for measuring spatial accessibility to healthcare and proposes a new approach to account for suboptimal configurations of facilities.
Abstract:
Accurate evaluation of the accessibility of medical facilities is a prerequisite for the reasonable allocation of medical resources in a city. The accessibility of medical facilities depends not only on the distance to the supply and demand points, but also on the time spent in the process, and the supply capacity of the supply points. Taking Xi’an City of Shaanxi Province as an example, this paper comprehensively considers the facility supply capacity and introduces the selection probability function based on the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method. In addition, in order to approximate the residents’ acceptance of different types of hospitals for long-distance medical treatment in real situations, different levels of search radius were set for the different levels of hospitals, and ArcGIS was used to measure the accessibility and evaluate the spatial layout of medical facilities in the main urban area of Xi’an. The results show that there is a significant difference in the accessibility of medical facilities in the main urban area of Xi’an, and the accessibility tends to decrease gradually from the central city to the periphery. The inequity in the allocation of medical facilities in the main urban area of Xi’an is more obvious, with about 81.64% of people having access to 54.88% of medical resources. The accessibility evaluation model established by the improved 2SFCA method can obtain more accurate and objective evaluation results. This study can provide a reference basis for urban medical facilities’ planning and rational spatial layout.
Summary:
- Aims to evaluate spatial accessibility and equity of medical facilities in Xi'an, China using an improved 2-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method
- Measures driving time between supply and demand points using API to get actual transportation costs
- Sets different search radii for different facility grades based on service capabilities
- Incorporates selection probability function based on supply and distance decay
- Measures accessibility at neighborhood level using population data
- Findings show decreasing accessibility from central city to periphery, with spatial inequity
- Accessibility modeling provides more accurate results than just using number of beds
- Improved 2SFCA method allows better evaluation to inform planning of medical facilitiesStudy questions and answers:
| Study Questions | Answers |
|---|---|
| What was the research objective? | To evaluate the spatial accessibility and equity of medical facilities in Xi’an, China. |
| How was accessibility measured? | Using an improved 2SFCA method incorporating selection probability and actual driving times. |
| How was facility supply measured? | Comprehensively using beds, utilization, staffing levels rather than just beds. |
| What was the scale of analysis? | Neighborhood level using population data. |
| What were the main findings? | Decreasing accessibility from central city to periphery, with spatial inequity in allocation. |
| How does the improved model help? | Allows more accurate evaluation than just using beds to inform planning. |