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. 2003 Dec;30(6):865-884.
doi: 10.1068/b29120.

Measures of Spatial Accessibility to Healthcare in a GIS Environment: Synthesis and a Case Study in Chicago Region

Wei Luo  1 , Fahui Wang  1
Affiliations

Measures of Spatial Accessibility to Healthcare in a GIS Environment: Synthesis and a Case Study in Chicago Region

Wei Luo et al. Environ Plann B Plann Des. 2003 Dec.

Abstract

This article synthesizes two GIS-based accessibility measures into one framework, and applies the methods to examining spatial accessibility to primary healthcare in the Chicago 10-county region. The floating catchment area method defines the service area of physicians by a threshold travel time while accounting for the availability of physicians by their surrounded demands. The gravity-based method considers a nearby physician more accessible than a remote one and discounts a physician's availability by a gravity-based potential. The former is a special case of the latter. Based on the 2000 Census and primary care physician data, this research assesses the variation of spatial accessibility to primary care in the Chicago region, and analyzes the sensitivity of results by experimenting with ranges of threshold travel times in the floating catchment area method and travel friction coefficients in the gravity model. The methods may be used to help the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and state Health Departments improve health professional shortage areas designation.

Keywords: GIS; accessibility measures; gravity model; healthcare access; physician shortage areas; two-step floating catchment area method.

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Figures

Figure 1A.
Figure 1A.
Population density-based area types for travel speed assignments.
Figure 2A.
Figure 2A.
Designated physician shortage areas (May 31, 2001).
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The Chicago 10-county region.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
An earlier version of the floating catchment area (FCA) method.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The two-step floating catchment area (FCA) method.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Accessibility measures by the two-step FCA and the gravity-based methods.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Accessibility to primary care in Chicago region by the two-step FCA method (d0=30).
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Accessibility to primary care in Chicago region by the gravity-based method (β=1.0).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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