A multiobjective framework for optimising Home Health Care districts

Home health care (HHC) services provide a practical alternative to traditional healthcare, especially in ageing populations, where demand for home-based medical care is rising. However, ensuring equitable and efficient service delivery poses significant logistical challenges, including balancing workload, minimising travel distances, and maintaining district contiguity. This study presents a novel multiobjective optimisation model to address the districting problem in HHC, through real-world data from Portugal. The proposed simultaneously optimises service efficiency, workload distribution, and geographic compactness while preserving district contiguity. The results demonstrated significant improvements with reductions in travel distances ranging from 10% to 40% and workload deviation minimised by up to 100%, leading to more balanced and operationally efficient districting plans. Additionally, it successfully preserved district contiguity, a crucial aspect for the practical implementation of districting solutions. The model adaptability across various scenarios underscores its potential as a decision-support tool for healthcare administrators, establishing a new benchmark for optimising HHC service planning and improving healthcare accessibility across different geographical contexts.