Global Rural-Urban Healthcare Accessibility (GRUHA)
Status: Ongoing
Topic Tags: healthcare access
SDG Tags: Good health and well-being
Scope: Global
Sponsors: None
ASAR Volunteers involved: Aryan Patil, Siddhesh Zadey, Aamir Miyajiwala, Anurag Gorkar, Harsh Sura, Sahil Kale
Summary
Geographical access to healthcare is an essential determinant of population health. Past studies have shown that 9% and 43% of the global population cannot reach their nearest healthcare facility within an hour - by motorised vehicle and walking, respectively. However, rural-urban disparities in geographic healthcare access are not known.
We conducted a geospatial analysis combining data from several raster and boundary datasets for 256 territories. Healthcare access coverage was determined by the proportions (%) of the population within 1 hour and 30 minutes from their nearest healthcare facilities by motorised (HAC-M) and walking (HAC-W) modes of transport, respectively.
Research Aims
We aimed to analyse disparities in geographic healthcare access coverage (HAC) by walking and motorised transport to the nearest healthcare facilities in rural and urban areas.
Advocacy Aims
The findings from our study can inform the global health disparities agenda to include rural healthcare access problems.