Measuring access to primary healthcare services after stroke: A spatial analytic approach

Abstract

Objective:To determine accessibility of the primary healthcare system for patients with stroke recently discharged from hospital.Methods:This project mapped retrospective patient location data and the location of primary healthcare services in the same region. Patient location data were from all patients with stroke (N = 1595: January 2011–January 2017) discharged from one metropolitan hospital to the local Primary Health Network. Geographic Information System technology was used to map the patient discharge locations and the spatial distribution of primary healthcare services (general practitioner, pharmacy, allied health) across the region. Road network data were used to measure the level of access from each patient’s discharge location to the services.Results:Access to primary healthcare services was variable. Areas with larger proportions of patients with stroke did not necessarily have good service access. With an increase in travel time, the number of services accessible to patients also increased. However, the spatial variation of access to services remained largely unchanged.Conclusion:Access to primary healthcare services for patients with stroke varies spatially, with a trend towards relatively low levels of accessibility for many patients. There is an urgent need for future planning to consider geographical access to primary healthcare services for patients with stroke.

Identifying Communities of Concern for Older Adults Using Spatial Analysis: Focusing on Accessibility to Health, Social, and Daily Services

“…In many disciplines, Geographic Information System (GIS)-based methodology has been widely used to assess and measure transportation accessibilities (Finch et al, 2019; Ozel et al, 2016). We utilized ArcMap 10.7.1, which is the central application used in ArcGIS.…”

Measuring Accessibility to Healthcare Using Taxi Trajectories Data: A Case Study of Acute Myocardial Infarction Cases in Beijing

“…Data from patients' electronic medical records had been used in some studies in different countries and was proven to be available for scientific research. [4][5][6][7][8][9] However, historical medical records are greatly underused in healthcare accessibility studies. One reason is due to geoprivacy issue which might hinder using historical medical record data.…”

Exploring changing needs following minor stroke

“…Various factors may contribute to problems of service access and associated unmet needs. For example, a recent geospatial mapping study in Australia for stroke patients found that access to general practices, pharmacies and allied health services was variable according to geographical location and often substandard in non‐urban areas (Finch et al, ). Previous research on outcomes and service use after minor stroke has tended to use cross‐sectional approaches, which do not account for changes during recovery, despite recognition of the diverse and temporal nature of emotional, social and participation needs, particularly in the early post‐discharge phase (Edwards et al, ; Rozon & Rochette, ).…”