title: Assessing spatial accessibility to maternity units in Shenzhen, China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  With the rapid development of urbanization, pregnant population is growing rapidly in Shenzhen, and it has been a difficulty to serve more and more pregnant women and reduce spatial access disparities to maternity units (MUs). Understanding of the current status of accessibility to MUs is valuable for supporting the rational allocation of MUs in the future.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on pregnant population data and MUs data, this study uses a two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method based on Geographic Information System (GIS) to analyze the current spatial accessibility to MUs, and then make a comparison between that to public MUs and private MUs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our analysis of the accessibility to all MUs within a distance of 20 km shows that the accessibilities of the areas alongside the traditional border management line are acceptable, meanwhile highlights some critical areas, such as the west part of Nanshan district and the vast east part of Longgang district. The comparison between spatial accessibility to public MUs and private MUs shows statistically significant difference.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of this study suggest a great effort should be made to improve the equity of spatial accessibility to MUs in Shenzhen. For policy-making, strategy for the siting and allocation of future MUs, no matter public or private, should guarantee the greatest spatial accessibility for every pregnant woman.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child, Adolescent and Women's Health, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Peige
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Yajie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: An
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002391:Catchment Area, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D062206:Spatial Analysis; D014507:Urbanization
references.citation: Spat Spatiotemporal Epidemiol. 2012 Sep;3(3):195-203
references.pmid: 22749205
references.citation: Int J Health Geogr. 2012 Aug 09;11:32
references.pmid: 22877360
references.citation: Environ Plann B Plann Des. 2003 Dec;30(6):865-884
references.pmid: 34188345
references.citation: Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1999 May;78(5):372-8
references.pmid: 10326879
references.citation: Fed Regist. 1980 Nov 17;45(223):75996-6010
references.pmid: 10248828
references.citation: Can J Public Health. 2007 Jul-Aug;98 Suppl  1:S74-6
references.pmid: 18047164
references.citation: J Med Syst. 2006 Feb;30(1):23-32
references.pmid: 16548411
references.citation: Arch Fam Med. 2000 Nov-Dec;9(10):971-8
references.pmid: 11115195
references.citation: Health Place. 2009 Dec;15(4):1100-7
references.pmid: 19576837
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 1993 Feb;36(4):569-73
references.pmid: 8434281
references.citation: Health Place. 2012 Jul;18(4):841-53
references.pmid: 22503565
references.citation: BJOG. 2011 Mar;118(4):457-65
references.pmid: 21138515
references.citation: Ann Emerg Med. 1998 Mar;31(3):351-7
references.pmid: 9506493
references.citation: Int J Health Geogr. 2008 Feb 18;7:7
references.pmid: 18282284
references.citation: Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2006 Aug;46(4):305-10
references.pmid: 16866791
references.citation: Am J Public Health. 2006 Jul;96(7):1300-7
references.pmid: 16735628
references.citation: Trop Med Int Health. 2006 Feb;11(2):188-96
references.pmid: 16451343
references.citation: Socioecon Plann Sci. 1992 Oct;26(4):275-87
references.pmid: 10123094
references.citation: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2008;1136:161-71
references.pmid: 17954679
references.citation: BMC Health Serv Res. 2011 Jul 11;11:166
references.pmid: 21745402