title: Geographic information system analysis on the distribution of patients visiting the periodontology department at a dental college hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to analyze and visualize the distribution of patients visiting the periodontology department at a dental college hospital, using a geographic information system (GIS) to utilize these data in patient care and treatment planning, which may help to assess the risk and prevent periodontal diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Basic patient information data were obtained from Dankook University Dental Hospital, including the unit number, gender, date of birth, and address, down to the dong (neighborhood) administrative district unit, of 306,656 patients who visited the hospital between 2007 and 2014. The data of only 26,457 patients who visited the periodontology department were included in this analysis. The patient distribution was visualized using GIS. Statistical analyses including multiple regression, logistic regression, and geographically weighted regression were performed using SAS 9.3 and ArcGIS 10.1. Five factors, namely proximity, accessibility, age, gender, and socioeconomic status, were investigated as the explanatory variables of the patient distribution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The visualized patient data showed a nationwide scale of the patient distribution. The mean distance from each patient's regional center to the hospital was 30.94±29.62 km and was inversely proportional to the number of patients from the respective regions. The distance from a regional center to the adjacent toll gate had various effects depending on the local distance from the hospital. The average age of the patients was 52.41±12.97 years. Further, a majority of regions showed a male dominance. Personal income had inconsistent results between analyses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The distribution of patients is significantly affected by the proximity, accessibility, age, gender and socioeconomic status of patients, and the patients visiting the periodontology department travelled farther distances than those visiting the other departments. The underlying reason for this needs to be analyzed further.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Dankook University College of Dentistry, Cheonan, Korea .
authors.forename: Byungjoon
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1403-0131
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Department of Urban Planning, Hanyang University Graduate School, Seoul, Korea .
authors.forename: Hyun-Tae
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8575-2196
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Dankook University College of Dentistry, Cheonan, Korea .
authors.forename: Hyun-Seung
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1410-9731
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Urban Planning & Real Estate, Dankook University, Yongin, Korea .
authors.forename: Mi-Hwa
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3962-1918
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Dankook University College of Dentistry, Cheonan, Korea.; Eastman Dental Institute, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Jung-Chul
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2041-8047
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Park
keywords: Epidemiology; Geographic information systems; Periodontal diseases