title: Geographic disparities in mammography capacity in the South: a longitudinal assessment of supply and demand.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Studies have shown that there is sufficient availability of mammography; however, little is known about geographic variation in capacity. The purpose of this study was to determine the locations and extent of over/undersupply of mammography in 14 southern states from 2002 to 2008.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mammography facility data were collected from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Population estimates, used to estimate the potential demand for mammography, were obtained from GeoLytics Inc.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using the two-step floating catchment area method, we calculated spatial accessibility at the block group level and categorized the resulting index to represent the extent of under/oversupply relative to the potential demand.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results show decreasing availability of mammography over time. The extent of over/undersupply varied significantly across the South. Reductions in capacity occurred primarily in areas with an oversupply of machines, resulting in a 68 percent decrease in the percent of women living in excess capacity areas from 2002 to 2008. The percent of women living in poor capacity areas rose by 10 percent from 2002 to 2008.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study found decreasing mammography availability and capacity over time, with substantial variation across states. This information can assist providers and policy makers in their business planning and resource allocation decisions.
authors.affiliation: South Carolina Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
authors.forename: Jan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Eberth
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eschbach
authors.forename: Jeffrey S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Hoang T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Md Monir
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Hossain
authors.forename: Linda S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Elting
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015144:Southeastern United States; D015206:Southwestern United States
keywords: Health services accessibility; geographic information systems; health services needs and demands; mammography; spatial analysis