Travel-time accessibility and adaptive spatial planning solutions for the healthcare system

Thumbnail Image

Files

2025_npjhs_balsa_travel.pdf (2.02 MB)
Identifiers
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10347/47437
ISSN: 3005-1959
DOI: 10.1038/S44401-025-00028-1

Publication date

2025-07-03

Authors

Advisors

Tutors

Editors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Nature Research
Metrics
Google Scholar
lacobus
Export

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Journal Issue

Abstract

Ensuring equitable healthcare access remains a significant challenge, particularly in rural areas where aging populations face increasing barriers due to facility closures. This study employs a GIS-based spatial network model to assess hospital accessibility, integrate road characteristics, and estimate travel times across all officially registered population nodes in a region. Analyzing disparities by age composition, we identify high-risk exclusion areas and propose an optimized model prioritizing vulnerable populations. Through four optimization scenarios, we evaluate the impact of hospital reductions on territorial accessibility. Findings reveal significant gaps, disproportionately affecting elderly and remote communities. Strategic hospital redistribution can enhance system efficiency and equity. This research highlights the value of GIS-based approaches in healthcare planning, providing data-driven strategies for optimizing hospital distribution and informing evidence-based policymaking.

Description

Keywords

Geography| Health care| Social policy| Social sciences| Socioeconomic scenarios

Bibliographic citation

Balsa-Barreiro, J., Batista, S.F.A., Hannoun, G.J., & Menendez, M. (2025) Travel-time accessibility and adaptive spatial planning solutions for the healthcare system. npj health systems, 2(24). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44401-025-00028-1

Relation

Has part

Has version

Is based on

Is part of

Is referenced by

Is version of

Requires

Sponsors

Rights

© The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproductionin anymediumorformat,aslong as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commonslicenceandyourintendeduseisnotpermitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Attribution 4.0 International

Collections

Instituto de Estudos e Desenvolvemento de Galicia (IDEGA)
Xeografía