Unequable spatial accessibility to hospitals in developing megacities: New evidence from Beijing

Area of Science:

• Urban Health
• Health Geography
• Spatial Analysis

Background:

• Growing inequality in spatial accessibility to hospitals in developing countries, especially megacities.
• Rapid urban sprawl exacerbates issues with health and public transport services.
• The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need for equal access to medical facilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate spatial inequity in hospital accessibility in Beijing, a rapidly growing megacity.
• To provide new evidence on health-focused inequality in a major developing country city.
• To analyze disparities in access to various levels of healthcare services.

Main Methods:

• Case study analysis of Beijing.
• Assessment of spatial accessibility to different tiers of hospitals and primary care.
• Comparison of access levels between low-income and high-income neighborhoods.

Main Results:

• Low-income neighborhoods have significantly lower accessibility to high-tier and primary healthcare services.
• High-income neighborhoods access secondary and tertiary hospitals 4x and 1.5x more than low-income neighborhoods.
• Low-income residents face nearly double the travel time to primary care facilities compared to high-income residents.

Conclusions:

• Rapid urban sprawl in Beijing is worsening spatial inequality in healthcare access.
• Suburban areas exhibit less access to medical services than central urban areas.
• Prioritizing equal healthcare access is crucial for equitable urbanization and pandemic management in megacities.