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Measures of spatial accessibility to health centers: investigating urban and rural disparities in Kermanshah, Iran

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Abstract

Aim

Availability of and accessibility to health services are critical factors to maintain the wellbeing of any society. This study aims to investigate the spatial patterns and accessibility levels of urban and rural residents to health centers—i.e., hospitals—in the case of Kermanshah Province located at the western part of Iran.

Subject and methods

The study employs a spatial analysis technique as the methodological approach. Datasets were obtained from the latest population statistics—i.e., the 2011 Population and Housing Census—and public and private hospitals in the Kermanshah Province. Access levels to health centers were calculated in a geographical information system environment with network analysis capability.

Results

The results revealed that: (a) spatial distribution of health centers in the Kermanshah Province follows a random pattern, (b) health centers are mainly concentrated in the Kermanshah Township, (c) there is a clear inequality in terms of access to health centers in the Kermanshah Province, (d) children, women, and the elderly residing in rural areas are found to be the most vulnerable groups.

Conclusion

The bipolar status of the rural population’s access to healthcare compared with those residing in the Kermanshah Township clearly underlines an unequal structure of the health system in the Kermanshah Province. There is, hence, a need for effective interventions of policymakers and health managers in the province to eliminate this disparity.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences for the grant provided for this study as well as to all individuals helping us in completing this research project.

Funding

This study was funded by the Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (grant no. 94262).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Development and Health Promotion Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Maskan-Golha Blv Street, 20, Kermanshah, 69149-57383, Iran

    Sohyla Reshadat, Alireza Zangeneh & Shahram Saeidi

  2. Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran

    Raziyeh Teimouri

  3. Department of Knowledge Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil

    Tan Yigitcanlar

Authors
  1. Sohyla Reshadat
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  2. Alireza Zangeneh
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  3. Shahram Saeidi
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  4. Raziyeh Teimouri
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  5. Tan Yigitcanlar
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Contributions

SR and AZ developed the idea. AZ, RT and SS designed and analyzed it. SR, AZ, SS, RT and TY interpreted the results and drafted the manuscript. All the authors take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole from inception to published article. SR is the guarantor. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alireza Zangeneh.

Ethics declarations

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences with ID 94262. Research involving human participants.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Reshadat, S., Zangeneh, A., Saeidi, S. et al. Measures of spatial accessibility to health centers: investigating urban and rural disparities in Kermanshah, Iran. J Public Health (Berl.) 27, 519–529 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0966-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0966-9

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