ArticlePloS one2019
A geospatial approach to understanding inequalities in accessibility to primary care among vulnerable populations.
Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Exploring the design and impact of integrated health and social care services for children and young people living in underserved populations: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Racial and Social Disparities in Primary Healthcare Access and Wait Times in Canada: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Experiences of families using an early example of a neighbourhood multidisciplinary care team for children and young people in Birmingham, UK: a qualitative exploration of acceptability.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Optimizing healthcare supply chain capacity planning during disasters using fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS methods.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Early activity and impact of a neighbourhood multidisciplinary team that integrates health and social support for underserved children and young people in Birmingham, UK: an observational study.BMJ paediatrics open · 2025Observational
- Geographic Accessibility to Pelvic Health Physiotherapy Services Across Ontario: A Geographic Information System Analysis.Physiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada · 2025Article
- Creating an Inclusive Definition for High Users of Inpatient Hospital Systems That Considers Different Levels of Rurality.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Spatial accessibility and equity of primary healthcare in Zhejiang, China.International journal for equity in health · 2024Article
- The impact of socioeconomic deprivation on liver transplantation.Frontiers in transplantation · 2024Review
- Implementing Geospatial Science and Technology to Get to Zero New HIV Infections.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2023Review
- Characteristics of Medical Deserts and Approaches to Mitigate Their Health Workforce Issues: A Scoping Review of Empirical Studies in Western Countries.International journal of health policy and management · 2023Article
- Mapping Rural and Urban Veterans' Spatial Access to Primary Care Following the MISSION Act.Journal of general internal medicine · 2022Article
- Geographic inequalities in paediatric emergency department visits in Ontario and Alberta: a multilevel analysis of 2.5 million visits.BMC pediatrics · 2022Article
- Finding Primary Care-Repurposing Physician Registration Data to Generate a Regionally Accurate List of Primary Care Clinics: Development and Validation of an Open-Source Algorithm.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Medication use problems among older adults at a primary care: A narrative of literature review.Aging medicine (Milton (N.S.W)) · 2022Review
- Investigating Health Context Using a Spatial Data Analytical Tool: Development of a Geospatial Big Data Ecosystem.JMIR medical informatics · 2022Article
- Regional differences in access to direct-acting antiviral treatments for hepatitis C across Ontario: A cross-sectional study.Canada communicable disease report = Releve des maladies transmissibles au Canada · 2022Article
- Identifying areas of potential critical healthcare shortages: A case study of spatial accessibility to ICU beds during the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida.Transport policy · 2021Article
- A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of the Health Situation in Poland Based on Functional Discriminant Coordinates.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Geographic inequalities in non-acute healthcare supply: evidence from Ireland.HRB open research · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Many Canadians experience unequal access to primary care services, despite living in a country with a universal health care system. Health inequalities affect all Canadians but have a much stronger impact on the health of vulnerable populations. Health inequalities are preventable differences in the health status or distribution of health resources as experienced by vulnerable populations. A geospatial approach was applied to examine how closely the distribution of primary care providers (PCPs) in London, Ontario meet the needs of vulnerable populations, including people with low income status, seniors, lone parents, and linguistic minorities. Using enhanced two step floating catchment area (E2SFCA) method, an index of geographic access scores for all PCPs and PCPs speaking French, Arabic, and Spanish were separately developed at the dissemination area (DA) level. To analyze how PCPs are distributed, comparative analyses were performed in association with specific vulnerable groups. Geographical accessibility to all PCPs, and PCPs who speak specific minority languages vary considerably across the city of London. Access scores for French- and Arabic-speaking PCPs are found comparatively high (mean = 2.85 and 1.01 respectively) as compared to Spanish-speaking PCPs (mean = 0.47). Additionally, many areas with high proportions of vulnerable populations experience low accessibility. Despite its exploratory nature, this study offers insight into intra-urban distributions of geographical accessibility to primary care resources for vulnerable groups. These findings can facilitate health researchers and policymakers in the development of recommendations to increase levels of accessibility of specific population groups in underserved areas.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.