Spatial Accessibility Analysis of Health Care Facilities in Serbia

Abstract

One of the dimensions describing accessibility to health services is its spatial component. This paper presents the methodology of using GIS technologies for the analysis of existing locations of health institutions in Serbia. The methodology includes determining the coordinates of hospitals using the geotagging, on the basis of which isochrons are created with 10 minutes time interval. For that purpose, the road network and functionalities provided by HERE Maps and its APIs are used. This service is selected since it offers high quality and complete data related to the network of roads in the territory of interest. Taking demographic data into account, the goal is to examine the impact that the distribution of institutions has on the population, first of all as the percentage of the population living at a certain distance from the nearest institution. The obtained results can be significant for future development, as critical spots with poor accessibility can be identified. These locations are suitable for the construction of new health care facilities.

Jedna od dimenzija koje opisuju pristupačnost zdravstvenim uslugama jeste prostorna komponenta. U ovom radu je predstavljena metodologija korišćenja GIS tehnologija za potrebe analize postojećih lokacija zdravstvenih ustanova u Srbiji. Metodologija obuhvata određivanje koordinata bolnica u postupku geotagovanja, na osnovu kojih se kreiraju izohrone s vremenskim intervalom od 10 minuta. Tom prilikom se koriste putna mreža i funkcionalnosti koje pruža HERE Maps u okviru svojih API-ja. Ovaj servis je odabran zato što nudi kvalitetne i kompletne podatke koji se odnose na mrežu saobraćajnica teritorije od interesa. Uzimajući u obzir demografske podatke, cilj je sagledavanje uticaja rasporeda ovih ustanova na stanovništvo, najpre u pogledu procenta stanovništva koji živi na određenoj udaljenosti od najbliže ustanove. Dobijeni rezultati mogu biti značajni za budući razvoj, s obzirom na to da se mogu utvrditi kritična mesta na kojima je pristupačnost loša. Upravo te lokacije jesu pogodne za izgradnju novih zdravstvenih ustanova.