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Updated: May 12, 2025

Trajectory Data Analyses for Pedestrian Space-time Activity Study
Published on: February 25, 2013
Identifying pharmacy gaps: a spatiotemporal study of multimodal accessibility throughout the day
Cláudia M Viana1, Luis Encalada-Abarca2,3, Jorge Rocha2
1Centre of Geographical Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, Universidade de Lisboa. Rua Branca Edmée Marques, 1600-276, Lisbon, Portugal. claudiaviana@edu.ulisboa.pt.
Community pharmacy accessibility in Lisbon varies significantly by time of day and transport mode. Public transport improves access, especially during evenings, but disparities persist, particularly during early mornings and limited pharmacy operating hours.
Area of Science:
- Urban Planning and Public Health
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Healthcare Access
- Spatio-temporal Analysis of Service Accessibility
Background:
- Community pharmacies are vital for medication access and healthcare services.
- Existing healthcare access inequities are exacerbated by temporal and spatial pharmacy access disparities.
- This study investigates spatiotemporal and multimodal community pharmacy accessibility in Lisbon.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively assess spatiotemporal and multimodal accessibility to community pharmacies in Lisbon.
- To highlight the influence of transport modes (walking, public transport) and time of day on accessibility disparities.
- To identify specific areas and times with limited pharmacy access.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a methodology incorporating five daily time slots and two transport modes (walking, public transport).
- Sourced data from road/pedestrian networks, Google API, and General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS).
- Employed descriptive statistics and spatial analysis to evaluate travel times and accessibility percentages within 10 minutes.
Main Results:
- Public transport consistently offers better accessibility than walking across all time slots.
- Peak accessibility occurs in the evening (6-7 PM), with 92.7% reachable by public transport; lowest in early morning (4-5 AM) at 16.1%.
- Daytime disparities (8-9 AM) show limited pharmacy hours restricting access in northern/southeastern areas, despite public transport improvements elsewhere.
Conclusions:
- Equitable community pharmacy access requires addressing both temporal and spatial factors.
- Policy recommendations include enhancing public transport during off-peak hours and extending pharmacy operating times.
- Future research should explore diverse urban contexts and utilize more granular data for improved service accessibility understanding.
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