Disparity in the spatial distribution of clinics within a metropolitan city

Abstract

A methodology for evaluating and understanding how healthcare agencies are distributed within a city is provided. The study undertaken analysed the disparity in the spatial distribution of clinics within the metropolitan city of Daejeon, South Korea. Address and specialty of clinics in use were collected from five public health centres in 2010. Buffer analysis, hot-spot analysis, and generalized linear models were applied to the data collected. Multivariate analysis was also conducted on data collected in 2008 from the annual records of five ward offices (mid-level city administration units) taking the lowest administrative level of the city (the dong) into account. Buffer analysis showed that numerous clinics were located near major roads, while the hot-spot analysis identified three areas with concentrations of clinics and one area with hardly any clinics. The results of the generalized linear models showed variations depending on the specialty of the clinics suggesting that their distribution differed depending on specialty. There are no current regulations in force governing clinic location. Policy makers should consider improving the clinic distribution taking their speciality into account.