Florin-Alexandru ZAHARIA, Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, Romania
The paper considers the assessment and analysis of the degree of access of the population to medical services in Bucharest. Preliminary studies on the spatio-temporal access of the population of Bucharest have highlighted certain inequalities, which can be explained by the distribution of medical services and the population on the one hand, on the other hand by the layout and characteristics of transport infrastructure. The importance of delimiting the areas with reduced access to medical services, as well as the assessment of the size of the affected population is high and of interest. These assessments can be the analytical support for an optimal distribution of health resources at the territorial level as well as for a good service to the residents.
The present analysis is performed in a Geographic Information System (GIS) that allowed the calculation and statistical modeling of access indicators, both from a strictly spatial and temporal perspective. The paper is presented in the form of a methodological approach reviewing the main methods of quantifying access indicators, their advantages and limitations.
This exploratory approach will be the basis for the subsequent analysis of the geographical accessibility of the population to medical units of various types highlighting dysfunctions and at the same time identifying solutions for optimizing the use of health resources. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this type of analysis has proved very useful, especially when medical resources and health infrastructure must be used specifically to manage the health crisis, as best as possible, without affecting the general health services.
Mots clés : geographical accessibility|health services|open source data|GIS|Bucharest
A104868FZ