How far is it to the nearest hospital? Calculating distances using the Statistics Canada Postal Code Conversion File

Area of Science:

• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Health Services Research
• Spatial Analysis

Background:

• Assessing geographic accessibility to healthcare is crucial for public health.
• Postal codes are commonly used in health data, necessitating methods for spatial analysis.
• Existing methods for calculating distances from postal codes can be refined for healthcare applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a method for calculating aerial distances between population centroids and hospital locations using Canadian geospatial data.
• To provide objective measures of geographic accessibility to hospital services.
• To illustrate the application of these methods using hospital data.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Postal Code Conversion File (PCCF) from Statistics Canada to link postal codes to geographic coordinates.
• Calculated aerial distances between enumeration area centroids (population) and blockface or enumeration area centroids (hospitals).
• Employed geospatial analysis techniques to determine distances to the nearest hospital facility.

Main Results:

• The median aerial distance to the nearest hospital in Canada was under 3 km, with a mean distance of approximately 6 km.
• For teaching hospitals, the median aerial distance was under 30 km, and the mean distance exceeded 90 km.
• Summarized results effectively using tables, figures, and maps.

Conclusions:

• The described method provides a practical approach to quantifying geographic accessibility to healthcare services.
• The findings highlight disparities in proximity to hospitals, particularly teaching hospitals, across Canada.
• The technique has broad applicability for health research and administrative purposes given the prevalence of postal codes in health data.