Measuring geographical accessibility to palliative and end of life (PEoLC) related facilities: a comparative study in an area with well-developed specialist palliative care (SPC) provision
Open Access
- 26 January 2017
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in BMC Palliative Care
- Vol. 16 (1), 1-7
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-017-0185-0
Abstract
Geographical accessibility is important in accessing healthcare services. Measuring it has evolved alongside technological and data analysis advances. High correlations between different methods have been detected, but no comparisons exist in the context of palliative and end of life care (PEoLC) studies. To assess how geographical accessibility can affect PEoLC, selection of an appropriate method to capture it is crucial. We therefore aimed to compare methods of measuring geographical accessibility of decedents to PEoLC-related facilities in South London, an area with well-developed SPC provision. Individual-level death registration data in 2012 (n = 18,165), from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) were linked to area-level PEoLC-related facilities from various sources. Simple and more complex measures of geographical accessibility were calculated using the residential postcodes of the decedents and postcodes of the nearest hospital, care home and hospice. Distance measures (straight-line, travel network) and travel times along the road network were compared using geographic information system (GIS) mapping and correlation analysis (Spearman rho). Borough-level maps demonstrate similarities in geographical accessibility measures. Strong positive correlation exist between straight-line and travel distances to the nearest hospital (rho = 0.97), care home (rho = 0.94) and hospice (rho = 0.99). Travel times were also highly correlated with distance measures to the nearest hospital (rho range = 0.84–0.88), care home (rho = 0.88–0.95) and hospice (rho = 0.93–0.95). All correlations were significant at p < 0.001 level. Distance-based and travel-time measures of geographical accessibility to PEoLC-related facilities in South London are similar, suggesting the choice of measure can be based on the ease of calculation.Funding Information
- Health Services and Delivery Research Programme (HS&DR 14/19/22)
- Programme Grants for Applied Research (CLAHRC South London)
This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
- The influence of geographical access to health care and material deprivation on colorectal cancer survival: Evidence from France and EnglandHealth & Place, 2014
- Neighbourhoods and potential access to health care: The role of spatial and aspatial factorsHealth & Place, 2012
- Spatial Implications Associated with Using Euclidean Distance Measurements and Geographic Centroid Imputation in Health Care ResearchHealth Services Research, 2010
- Measuring Potential Access to Primary Healthcare Services: The Influence of Alternative Spatial Representations of PopulationThe Professional Geographer, 2006
- Comparison of perceived and modelled geographical access to accident and emergency departments: a cross-sectional analysis from the Caerphilly Health and Social Needs StudyInternational Journal of Health Geographics, 2006
- Validation of travel times to hospital estimated by GISInternational Journal of Health Geographics, 2006
- Distance, rurality and the need for care: access to health services in South West EnglandInternational Journal of Health Geographics, 2004
- Increasing the sophistication of access measurement in a rural healthcare studyHealth & Place, 2002
- Geographical aspects of the uptake of renal replacement therapy in EnglandInternational Journal of Population Geography, 1998
- The Concept of AccessMedical Care, 1981