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Pengxiang Zhao

Researcher

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Towards healthcare access equality : Understanding spatial accessibility to healthcare services for wheelchair users

Author

  • Kun Chen
  • Pengxiang Zhao
  • Kun Qin
  • Mei Po Kwan
  • Niman Wang

Summary, in English

Considering that the number of wheelchair users is on the rise at the global level due to population aging, it is crucial to secure their rights to have adequate access to healthcare services. Spatial accessibility to healthcare services has been well recognized to influence people's health. However, research on healthcare accessibility of wheelchair users is scarce. This study proposes a barrier-free path planning method to estimate wheelchair users' travel time as the measurement of their accessibility. A study on Wuhan, China, is conducted to evaluate the spatial accessibility to healthcare services for wheelchair users and compare it with the general population. The results show that: (1) the levels of healthcare accessibility are unevenly distributed across the city center and the periphery of the study area for both wheelchair users and the general population, while wheelchair users have lower accessibility overall; (2) both similarities and differences in hospital and travel mode selection to access healthcare services co-exist in the study area between the two groups; (3) significant inequality in healthcare accessibility is observed in Hongshan and Qingshan districts. The research findings are beneficial for policymakers to further improve healthcare accessibility and its equality by optimizing the allocation of hospital resources and barrier-free public transport.

Department/s

  • Centre for Geographical Information Systems (GIS Centre)
  • Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
  • MECW: The Middle East in the Contemporary World

Publishing year

2024

Language

English

Publication/Series

Computers, Environment and Urban Systems

Volume

108

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Elsevier

Topic

  • Communication Systems

Keywords

  • Barrier-free path planning
  • Equality
  • Healthcare services
  • Public transport
  • Spatial accessibility
  • Wheelchair users

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0198-9715