Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32957992›Full record

ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2020

Hierarchical two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method: measuring the spatial accessibility to hierarchical healthcare facilities in Shenzhen, China.

Zhuolin Tao, Yang Cheng, Jixiang Liu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal for equity in health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Geographic access as a modifiable determinant of cancer care: perspectives on hub-and-spoke oncology networks, travel burden and time toxicity.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Study on edge villages based on cross-region healthcare-seeking behavior.International journal of health geographics · 2025
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Designing a clustering algorithm for optimizing health station locations.International journal of health geographics · 2025
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Zhuolin TaoFaculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
Yang ChengFaculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. chengyang@bnu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0002-8055-3101
Jixiang LiuDepartment of Urban Planning and Design, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSpatial accessibility to healthcare facilities has drawn much attention in health geography. In China, central and local governments have aimed to develop a well-organized hierarchical system of healthcare facilities in recent years. However, few studies have focused on the measurement of healthcare accessibility in a hierarchical service delivery system, which is crucial for the assessment and implementation of such strategies.

methodsBased on recent improvements in 2SFCA (two-step floating catchment area) method, this study aims to propose a Hierarchical 2SFCA (H2SFCA) method for measuring spatial accessibility to hierarchical facilities. The method considers the varied catchment area sizes, distance decay effects, and transport modes for facilities at various levels. Moreover, both the relative and absolute distance effects are incorporated into the accessibility measurement.

resultsThe method is applied and tested in a case study of hierarchical healthcare facilities in Shenzhen, China. The results reveal that the general spatial accessibility to hierarchical healthcare facilities in Shenzhen is unevenly distributed and concentrated. The disparity of general accessibility is largely caused by the concentrated distribution of tertiary hospitals. For facilities at higher levels, average accessibility of demanders is higher, but there are also larger disparities in spatial accessibility. The comparison between H2SFCA and traditional methods reveals that traditional methods underestimate the spatial disparity of accessibility, which may lead to biased suggestions for policy making.

conclusionsThe results suggest that the supply of healthcare resources at primary facilities is far from sufficient. To improve the spatial equity in spatial accessibility to hierarchical healthcare facilities, various actions are needed at different levels. The proposed H2SFCA method contributes to the modelling of spatial accessibility to hierarchical healthcare facilities in China and similar environments where the referral system has not been well designed. It can also act as the foundation for developing more comprehensive measures in future studies.

Indexed as

Catchment Area, HealthHealth Services AccessibilityChinaHealth FacilitiesHumansSpatial Analysis2SFCAAbsolute distanceHierarchical healthcare facilitiesRelative distanceSpatial accessibility

Identifiers

PMID32957992
PMCPMC7507269

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.