Spatial Disparities and Correlated Variables of Community Care Facility Accessibility in Rural Areas of China

Abstract

With the increasing aging of the world’s population, research on the equitable allocation of elderly care facilities has received increasing attention, but measuring the accessibility of community care facilities (CCFs) in rural areas has received little attention. In this study, which covered 7985 CCFs in 223,877 villages, we measured the accessibility of CCFs in rural areas of Hubei Province by using the nearest distance method. Based on the accessibility calculation, the spatial disparities and agglomeration characteristics of spatial accessibility were analyzed, and the correlated variables related to the accessibility were analyzed from both natural environment and socioeconomic aspects by employing a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. Our results show that 87% of villages have a distance cost of less than 7121 m and 81% of townships have a distance cost of less than 5114 m; good spatial accessibility is present in the eastern and central regions, while poor spatial accessibility is shown in a small number of areas in the west. The results from the clustering analysis show that the hot spot areas are mainly clustered in the western mountainous areas and that the cold spot areas are mainly clustered around Wuhan city. We also observed that area, elevation, population aged 65 and above, and number of villages are significantly correlated with accessibility. The results of this study can be used to provide a reference for configuration optimization and layout planning of elderly care facilities in rural areas.

Spatial Layout Monitoring and Optimizationof Elderly Care Facilities

“…(21) Yu et al examined community-based elderly care facilities in rural Guangdong Province by using GIS and the nearest distance method to analyze the spatial differences and agglomeration characteristics of spatial accessibility for the optimization of facilities. (22) To examine community life circles, Wan et al comprehensively compared the spatial distribution of elderly residents and the accessibility of elderly day-care centers in typical urban built-up areas in China by using accessibility theory and the spatial analysis method. (23) For the inductive analysis of quality, GIS-based spatial analysis and accessibility analysis provide relatively mature methods for applied analysis.…”

Research on Urban Community Elderly Care Facility Based on Quality of Life by SEM: Cases Study of Three Types of Communities in Shenzhen, China

“…Social Relationships QOL q 14 Do you get enough support from your friends? q 15 How is your relationship with your neighbors? q 16 How often do you have friction with other family members?…”

“…Elderly groups have different needs and opportunities to obtain elderly care resources [14]. However, previous studies researched the sustainability, equity, and accessibility of CECFs and proposed general CECF construction measures with respect to elderly demands, elderly health, and the spatial distribution of facilities [15][16][17][18]. There has been less research discussing how to improve the quality of life of the elderly in community elderly service facilities from the perspective of the different characteristics and care needs of the elderly [19].…”