Accessibility Analysis of Health care facility using Geospatial Techniques

Health care is one of the most important facility and it helps to improve the quality of life and social welfare of modern society. Recent advances in the field of health geography have greatly improved our understanding of the role played by geographic distribution of health services in population health maintenance. This study presents a two stages methodology to evaluate the existing locations of healthcare facilities in Thiruverumbur block, Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu, India and includes to identify the optimal site for new healthcare facility. Firstly, the Spatial Accessibility index to healthcare facilities are measured using Three Step Floating Catchment Area (3SFCA) in a geospatial framework, considering three variables; namely, attractiveness of healthcare facilities, travel time or distance between the locations of the service centre and the residence, and population demand for healthcare facilities. This index would define the disparity region in the healthcare accessibility in the block. Secondly, the Multi-criteria decision analysis would be developed to find optimal sites for new healthcare facility in the deprived area. The analysis also includes road network analysis, to determine the closest facility and shortest route to these healthcare facilities from the population. The study is thus, recommended as a spatial decision support system for urban policy makers regarding accessibility of healthcare facilities in the urban and rural area.