Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to understand a community's primary care needs

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Public Health

Background:

• Improving community health and reducing healthcare costs necessitates increased access to primary care and preventative services.
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) offer a powerful tool for analyzing healthcare utilization patterns and community attributes to pinpoint areas with the greatest need for primary care access.

Purpose of the Study:

• To utilize GIS and multiattribute assessment techniques to identify geographic areas requiring enhanced primary care access.
• To develop a data-driven strategy for targeting primary care interventions and health services delivery.

Main Methods:

• Employed Geographic Information Systems (GIS), analytical hierarchy process, and multiattribute assessment techniques.
• Collaborative partnership within a practice-based research network used community-based participatory research principles to identify key attributes.
• Generated maps based on socioeconomic status, population density, insurance status, and emergency department/primary care safety-net utilization.

Main Results:

• Individual and composite GIS maps successfully identified specific community areas with the highest need for improved primary care access.
• The analysis highlighted geographic disparities in primary care accessibility.

Conclusions:

• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide a rapid and effective method for identifying areas most in need of increased primary care access using readily available data.
• The developed Multiple Attribute Primary Care Targeting Strategy serves as a valuable model for health service planning, intervention targeting, and evaluation to improve healthcare access.