Using social indicators to locate mental health facilities

The following article reports the results of a process designed to improve the accessibility of psychiatric inpatient services by identifying sites which are closest to the greater number of people in need. Facility locations and catchment areas for a test region are noted along with facility sites arrived at by a more conventional approach. The estimated travel time was 11 percent lower in the test methodology. This finding indicates that major improvements in the reduction of travel time are possible when quantitative techniques are applied by mental health planners.