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Location-allocation modelling for rational health planning: Applying a two-step optimization approach to evaluate the spatial accessibility improvement of newly added tertiary hospitals in a metropolitan city of China

Author

Listed:
  • Pan, Jay
  • Deng, Yufan
  • Yang, Yili
  • Zhang, Yumeng

Abstract

The inequity of access to healthcare services is still one of the most long-lasting problems confronted by worldwide countries. Under such context where maldistributed healthcare resources have posed huge challenges in achieving cross-regional efficiency and equity of healthcare services, rational allocation of newly added healthcare resources has become rather critical to policy makers. To address this issue, we applied a two-step optimization approach to investigate the spatial allocation of newly added tertiary general healthcare resources in Chengdu, a metropolitan city of China. The case study of Chengdu was utilized as an example to illustrate the feasibility of such spatial optimization approach in practice in terms of supporting regional health planning related decision-making procedures in China, as well as evaluating the performance of healthcare resource allocation related strategies actually implemented. Using current and historical health planning data, we sought to optimize tertiary general hospitals’ locations to maximize population coverage of healthcare services in the first step, and to achieve equitable access to healthcare services among different residential locations via assigning the capacity (beds) to each hospital in the second step. Results suggested that the spatial optimization of newly added healthcare resources would theoretically enhance both efficiency and equity substantially. Specifically, if implemented in practice, such optimized spatial allocation of healthcare resources would theoretically contribute to improved efficiency as reflected by a 5% increase and a 15% increase in population coverage and the weighted median value of spatial accessibility, respectively. In addition, this would contribute to achieve enhanced equity as reflected by a 27% decrease in the weighted standard deviation of spatial access. These findings are anticipated to offer valuable policy implications to inform the spatial allocation decisions of healthcare resources in China as well as other countries confronted with similar challenges, and the two-step optimization approach could be applied to facilitate future rational health plannings.

Suggested Citation

  • Pan, Jay & Deng, Yufan & Yang, Yili & Zhang, Yumeng, 2023. "Location-allocation modelling for rational health planning: Applying a two-step optimization approach to evaluate the spatial accessibility improvement of newly added tertiary hospitals in a metropoli," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:338:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623006536
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116296
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pan, Jay & Zhao, Hanqing & Wang, Xiuli & Shi, Xun, 2016. "Assessing spatial access to public and private hospitals in Sichuan, China: The influence of the private sector on the healthcare geography in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 35-45.
    2. Johar, Meliyanni & Soewondo, Prastuti & Pujisubekti, Retno & Satrio, Harsa Kunthara & Adji, Ardi, 2018. "Inequality in access to health care, health insurance and the role of supply factors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 134-145.
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    6. Ting Chen & Jay Pan, 2022. "The Effect of Spatial Access to Primary Care on Potentially Avoidable Hospitalizations of the Elderly: Evidence from Chishui City, China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 645-665, April.
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