ArticleBMC health services research2017
Potential accessibility scores for hospital care in a province of Japan: GIS-based ecological study of the two-step floating catchment area method and the number of neighborhood hospitals.
Article in BMC health services research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Spatial agglomeration in the use of emergency telephone consultation services in a prefecture of Japan: a geographic information system-based spatial statistical analysis.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Spatial analysis of accessibility to healthcare-related facilities in Tokyo Metropolis using geographic information systems.PloS one · 2026Article
- Empowering access: unveiling an overall composite spatial accessibility index to healthcare services in Southeastern Iran.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Future Possible Changes in Medically Underserved Areas in Japan: A Geographic Information System-Based Simulation Study.Journal of market access & health policy · 2024Article
- Measuring hospital spatial accessibility using the enhanced two-step floating catchment area method to assess the impact of spatial accessibility to hospital and non-hospital care on the length of hospital stay.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- [Spatial accessibility of fever clinics for multi-tiered prevention and control on COVID-19 in Beijing].Beijing da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Peking University. Health sciences · 2021Article
- Assessing Spatial Accessibility to Medical Resources at the Community Level in Shenzhen, China.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Effect of geographic accessibility to primary care on treatment status of hypertension.PloS one · 2019Article
- Estimation and Evaluation of Future Demand and Supply of Healthcare Services Based on a Patient Access Area Model.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2017Article
- The Contributions of Population Distribution, Healthcare Resourcing, and Transportation Infrastructure to Spatial Accessibility of Health Care.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingArticle
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5 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundFor achieving equity of the accessibility to primary healthcare, measuring potential geographical accessibility is essential. The provider-to-population ratio is the most frequently used measure. However, it is difficult to be used in closer region because it does not take into consideration the people and health services beyond its boundary. In order to overcome this problem, we measured the potential access to hospital, using both distance measures and the enhanced two-step floating catchment area (E2SFCA) method. The aim of this study was to compare the number of hospitals in the neighborhood and the E2SFCA score with regard to the amount and equity for access to hospitals.
methodsThis descriptive study used publicly available data from 2010. The E2SFCA score and number of neighborhood hospitals were obtained from Tochigi province in Japan using a geographic information system. Dataset of four measures by each census tract was obtained. The measures were E2SFCA score, number of hospitals within the 5 km range, number of hospitals within the 10 km range, and number of hospitals within the 15 km range. Correlation and disparity analyses with the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient were performed.
resultsThe measures were obtained in a smaller area than municipality considering adjacent areas using a geographical approach. The E2SFCA score was 5.3 [3.2-7.3] hospitals/million (median [quantile range]), compared to 5.6 hospitals/million in total for the given district. The median number of hospitals within the 5 km, 10 km, and 15 km ranges were 1, 39, and 47, respectively. There was no hospital within the 5 km range in one third of the blocks. Both the number of hospitals within the 10 km range and those within the 15 km range were well correlated. Regional difference became smaller as the distance to count the number of hospitals increased. The gap between small number of hospitals and the high E2SFCA score indicated the location of community hospital in depopulated areas.
conclusionsThe E2SFCA method is superior for analyzing spatial access to hospital, because it provides information in the closer sub-regions. Regional differences were hardly seen in access to hospital beyond the 10 km range. Further studies in other regions and countries are needed for precise assessment.
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