A comparative analysis of hospital accessibility: A study case in the municipalities of Rio Claro and Sao Carlos

Hospitals can significantly impact their surroundings and the transport system of the region they are located, characterizing them as trip generators. With this regard, this study aimed to perform an analysis of the levels of accessibility to hospitals, such as “Santa Casa”, located in the municipalities of Rio Claro and Sao Carlos, considering three ways of traveling: walking, driving, and taking public transport. The proposed method is based on an indicator (time) to measure accessibility to hospitals, making use of geographic information systems. IBGE data were used to estimate the income levels of the traffic areas studied. A survey with the users of hospitals located in the municipalities of Rio Claro and Sao Carlos was performed to characterize the source and location of the travel. A comparative analysis of accessibility was carried out, according to income levels, to verify whether the portion of the population who actually needs and uses hospital services benefits from compatible accessibility levels.

医院可对其周边环境及所在区域的交通系统产生显著影响，因此可被归类为出行生成源。有鉴于此，本研究旨在对位于里奥克拉鲁（Rio Claro）与圣卡洛斯（Sao Carlos）两市镇内的医院（例如圣卡萨（Santa Casa）医院）的可达性水平展开分析，分析涵盖步行、驾车及公共交通三种出行方式。本研究提出的方法以时间作为衡量医院可达性的指标，并借助地理信息系统（Geographic Information Systems）开展相关分析。本研究借助巴西地理与统计研究所（IBGE）的数据，对所研究的交通区域的收入水平进行估算。此外，本研究针对里奥克拉鲁与圣卡洛斯两市镇内的医院就诊患者开展了问卷调查，以明确出行的起点与目的地分布特征。最后，本研究依据收入水平展开了可达性对比分析，以验证实际需要并使用医疗服务的人群是否享受到了与之匹配的可达性水平。