Evaluation of the spatial equality of the medical service function from the perspective of the life circle：A case study of Chengdu City

Abstract

Background At a time when life is starting to return to normal following the global pandemic, the medical service function as a key component of public infrastructure in livable communities still have an undeniable importance. In practice, however, due to a heterogeneity in the distribution of medical facilities, a significant spatial imbalance can exist in urban and country regions. By integrating the life circle theory and complex system theory, we try to propose a new framework to fill this gap and explain the formation mechanism of the medical service function equality. Furthermore, the feasibility of the framework was verified by evaluating the spatial equality of medical services of the primary, secondary, tertiary and total medical service function in Chengdu City, China. Methods Based on Z-score method, a quantitative method was constructed to quantitative detect the spatial pattern of Chengdu’s medical services. This method can help to accurately identify the spatial equality of the medical service function, thereby facilitating further refined policy formulation to improve these functions. Results The results for accessibility within the life circle indicate that 97.69% of the population and 63.76% of metropolitan Chengdu enjoy total access to medical services, but this desirable accessibility gradually decreases around the central line of Chengdu and the central areas of other districts and counties. The multi-center hierarchical structure of level II, level III and the total function reflects the fact that accessibility to medical facilities in the main urban areas is better than that in the surrounding counties, and in the central urban areas of these surrounding counties are better than that in their peripheral areas. the spatial equality for the total function, level III, and level II exhibits a clear hierarchical structure, namely core-edge pattern. Urban construction is gradually spread from the center to the outside, which fundamentally determines the skeleton of the spatial pattern of medical service facilities in Chengdu. Conclusions Findings of this research contribute new theoretical and methodological insights into addressing the spatial equality of public service functions in complex regional and urban system.