Environmental and social factors influencing resource allocation in rural, developing regions are critical social determinants of health that necessitate cross-sector collaboration to improve health opportunities. Thus, we sought to evaluate the spatial distribution and accessibility of medical resources to assess existing disparities, identify best practices for resource allocation, and inform regional health planning policies. In this study, inequality in the frequency distribution of medical resources in Wenzhou, China, was measured using the Gini coefficient and agglomeration degree. We evaluated the spatial accessibility of medical institutions throughout the city using the modified hierarchical two-step floating catchment area (H2SFCA) method. Using the Spearman correlation analysis, we investigated the factors influencing accessibility differences. The results indicate that Wenzhou’s spatial distribution of medical resources is unbalanced and unequal. According to the population and geographic distribution, the distribution of medical resources in Wenzhou is unequal. Wenzhou’s overall spatial accessibility is poor. The east region is more accessible than the west region, and the accessibility of medical institutions at different levels varies greatly. The correlation between accessibility and the number of institutions, doctors, population density, road density, and GDP is positive. There is a need for policies and initiatives to enhance the geographical distribution of resources, construct interconnected road networks, and improve residents’ access to medical resources.
Background: Environmental and social factors that impact resource allocation in rural, developing regions are key social determinants of health that require multi-sector collaboration to improve health opportunities. Thus, we sought to evaluate the spatial distribution and accessibility of medical resources to assess current disparities, determine best practices for resource allocation, and inform policies to improve regional health planning.Methods: We used the Gini coefficient and agglomeration degree to measure inequality among the frequency distribution of medical resources in Wenzhou, China. We applied the modified hierarchical two-step floating catchment area (H2SFCA) method to evaluate the spatial accessibility of medical institutions across the city. Finally, we explored the influencing factors of accessibility differences using the spearman correlation analysis. Results: The distribution of medical resources in Wenzhou is inequitable according to population and geographical distribution. The overall spatial accessibility of Wenzhou is poor, the accessibility of east region is higher than west region, and the accessibility of different levels of medical institutions varies greatly. Accessibility is positively correlated with the number of institutions (ρ=0.585), the number of doctors (ρ=0.670), population density (ρ=0.769), road density (ρ=0.792), and GDP (ρ=0.310).Conclusions: There are disparities in the spatial and unbalanced distribution of medical resources in Wenzhou. Policies and initiatives to improve the geographical distribution of resources, construct connected road networks, and enhance resident access to medical resources are needed.
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