Multidimensional Spatial Match of Hierarchical Healthcare Facilities Considering Floating Population: A Case of Beijing, China

Xingfei Cai,Xiaogang Ning,Peng Jia,Qiyong Du,Hao Wang

doi:10.3390/su14031092

Abstract

Good health and well-being are key to achieving the main goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially after the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic. What is a concern for both government and society is how to understand the spatial match of hierarchical healthcare facilities and residential areas in terms of quantity and capacity, to meet the challenges of various diseases and build a healthy life. Using hierarchical healthcare data and cellphone signaling data in Beijing, China, we used the kernel density estimation, a bivariate spatial autocorrelation model, and a coupling index to explore the spatial relationships between hierarchical healthcare facilities and residential areas. We found large numbers of both healthcare facilities and residential areas in the urban center, and small numbers of both at the urban edge. The hospitals and designated retail pharmacies in the densely populated areas do not have enough capacity to meet the need of the population. In addition, the capacity of primary healthcare institutions can meet people’s needs. Our findings would serve as a reference for urban planning, optimization of hierarchical healthcare facilities, and research on similar themes.

Highlights

Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages are essential to the UNSustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets
Understanding the spatial match of healthcare facilities and residential areas in terms of quantity and capacity is of great significance to responding to the ever-changing epidemic, improving the hierarchical healthcare system, and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Spatial pattern research by Zhao et al [51] and Zhang et al [28] has highlighted that the spatial patterns of healthcare resources in Beijing are extremely uneven

Summary

Introduction

Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages are essential to the UN. Target 3.3 aims to eliminate and fight epidemics. We are still faced with the problem of the uneven distribution of healthcare resources and defective healthcare security among different groups of people. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these problems. We have all been living in hard times. The UN Sustainable Development targets require new ways of conceptualizing and ensuring healthy lives, defining it as infrastructural construction and as a rational distribution. Understanding the spatial match of healthcare facilities and residential areas in terms of quantity and capacity is of great significance to responding to the ever-changing epidemic, improving the hierarchical healthcare system, and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals

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Discussion

Conclusion