Analyzing the Spatial Equity of Walking-Based Chronic Disease Pharmacies: A Case Study in Wuhan, China

Chronic diseases place a substantial financial burden on both the patient and the state. As chronic diseases become increasingly prevalent with urbanization and aging, primary chronic disease pharmacies should be planned to ensure that patients receive an equitable distribution of resources. Here, t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2022-12, Vol.20 (1), p.278
Main Authors: Liu, Yue, Su, Yuwei, Li, Xiaoyu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aging
Case studies
China
Chronic illnesses
Cities
Digital mapping
Disease
Drug stores
Facilities planning
Geriatrics
Health care policy
Health facilities
Health services
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Older people
Pharmacies
Pharmacy
Public health
Public services
Service areas
Telemedicine
Urban areas
Urban development
Urbanization
Walking
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Chronic diseases place a substantial financial burden on both the patient and the state. As chronic diseases become increasingly prevalent with urbanization and aging, primary chronic disease pharmacies should be planned to ensure that patients receive an equitable distribution of resources. Here, the spatial equity of chronic disease pharmacies is investigated. In this study, planning radiuses and Web mapping are used to assess the walkability and accessibility of planned chronic disease pharmacies; Lorenz curves are used to evaluate the match between the service area of the pharmacies and population; location quotients are used to identify the spatial differences of the allocation of chronic disease pharmacies based on residents. Results show that chronic disease pharmacies have a planned service coverage of 38.09%, an overlap rate of 58.34%, and actual service coverage of 28.05% in Wuhan. Specifically, chronic disease pharmacies are spatially dispersed inconsistently with the population, especially the elderly. The allocation of chronic disease pharmacies is directly related to the standard of patients' livelihood. Despite this, urban development does not adequately address this group's equity in access to medication. Based on a case study in Wuhan, China, this study aims to fill this gap by investigating the spatial equity of chronic disease medication purchases.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph20010278