Using GIS and perceived distance to understand the unequal geographies of healthcare in lower-income urban neighbourhoods

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4707288
AutoresTimothy L Hawthorne (0000-0003-4565-3745, Columbus State University), Mei-Po Kwan (0000-0001-8602-9258), Mei‐po Kwan
Ano2012
Volume178
Fascículo1
Páginas18-30
Data de publicação2012-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoGeographical Journal (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0016-7398 • E-ISSN: 1475-4959
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1475-4959.2011.00411.x
PMID22400154
OpenAlexW2170577368
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas31
Referências citadas60

Geographers play important roles in public health research, particularly in understanding healthcare accessibility, utilisation, and individual healthcare experiences. Most accessibility studies have benefited from the increased sophistication of geographic information systems (GIS). Some studies have been enhanced with semi-structured in-depth interviews to understand individual experiences of people as they access healthcare. However, few accessibility studies have explicitly utilised individual in-depth interview data in the construction of new GIS accessibility measures. Using mixed methods including GIS analysis and individual data from semi-structured in-depth interviews, we offer satisfaction-adjusted distance as a new way of conceptualising accessibility in GIS. Based on fieldwork in a predominantly lower-income community in Columbus, Ohio (USA), we find many residents felt neighbourhood healthcare facilities offered low-quality care, which suggested an added perceived distance as they attempt to access high-quality healthcare facilities. The satisfaction-adjusted distance measure accounts for the perceived distance some residents feel as they search for high-quality healthcare in lower-income urban neighbourhoods. In moving beyond conventional GIS and re-conceptualising accessibility in this way, we offer a more realistic portrayal of the issues lower-income urban residents face as they attempt to access high-quality healthcare facilities. The work has theoretical implications for conceptualising healthcare accessibility, advances the mixed-methodologies literature, and argues for a more equitable distribution of high-quality healthcare in urban neighbourhoods

Business · Cartography · Economic growth · Geographic information system · Geography · Health care · Neighbourhood (mathematics · Quality (philosophy · Social science · Sociology · Sophistication · Work (physics · Data-Driven Disease Surveillance · Engineering · Health disparities and outcomes · Urban Transport and Accessibility