Different configurations of the two-step floating catchment area method for measuring the spatial accessibility to hospitals for people living with disability: a cross-sectional study

Archives of Public Health

Alireza Mohammadi¹  Behzad Kiani²  Robert Bergquist³  Nasser Bagheri⁴ 

[1] Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran;Department of Medical Informatics, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran;Ingerod, Brastad, Sweden (formerly with the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization), Geneva, Switzerland;Visualization and Decision Analytics (VIDEA) lab, Centre for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, College of Health and Medicine, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia;

关键词: Geographical information systems;    GIS;    Hospital;    People living with disability;    Spatial accessibility;    2SFCA;    Urban area;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13690-021-00601-8

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPoor spatial accessibility to hospital services is associated with higher morbidity and mortality rates among people living with disability. Improved methods to evaluate spatial accessibility are needed. This study measured the potential spatial accessibility of people living with disability by applying four configurations of the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method to recommend the best model for use in health services research.Methods2SFCA and an enhanced version (E2SFCA) were used to measure hospital accessibility for people living with disability. We also developed and embedded a non-spatial severity index into the two 2SFCA models. We used 16,186 records of people living with disability experience to evaluate the methodological performance across 68 neighbourhoods of the city of Ahvaz, located in south-western Iran. The models’ performance were measured through correlation of the four accessibility scores with the distance to closest hospital for each neighbourhood centroid.ResultsAmong the four models used to measure spatial accessibility, the E2SFCA integrated with the severity index displayed the best performance. Most people with disabilities lived in neighbourhoods located in the South-western and central areas of the city. Interestingly, south-western neighbourhoods had poor hospital accessibility score and were identified as unmet need areas for access to health services.ConclusionsInclusion of the severity factor in the E2SFCA improved access measurements. Identifying areas with poor levels of hospital accessibility can help policymakers design tailored interventions and improve accessibility to hospital-based care in urban settings for people living with disability.

【 授权许可】

CC BY