title: A spatial decision support tool for estimating population catchments to aid rural and remote health service allocation planning.
abstract: There is mounting pressure on healthcare planners to manage and contain costs. In rural regions, there is a particular need to rationalize health service allocation to ensure the best possible coverage for a dispersed population. Rural health administrators need to be able to quantify the population affected by their allocation decisions and, therefore, need the capacity to incorporate spatial analyses into their decision-making process. Spatial decision support systems (SDSS) can provide this capability. In this article, we combine geographical information systems (GIS) with a web-based graphical user interface (webGUI) in a SDSS tool that enables rural decision-makers charged with service allocation, to estimate population catchments around specific health services in rural and remote areas. Using this tool, health-care planners can model multiple scenarios to determine the optimal location for health services, as well as the number of people served in each instance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada. nadine@sfu.ca
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schuurman
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Randall
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berube
mesh_terms: D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D040362:Geographic Information Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015276:Health Care Rationing; D006296:Health Services / Q000600:supply & distribution; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000379:methods*; D012424:Rural Population