A study on the accessibility of multi-level medical services in non-central urban areas of megacities -- Taking Southern Guangzhou as an example

Accurately measuring the spatial heterogeneity of urban medical public services and rationally planning medical public spaces are important guarantees for achieving stable and healthy urban development. However, previous studies have not paid enough attention to the differences in multi-level medical accessibility and residents’ travel patterns. This study divides hierarchies based on the functions and scales of medical institutions, and uses an improved two-step mobile search method to analyze the spatial equity of the medical service system at all levels in southern Guangzhou under multiple travel modes. Grid population, Amap API real-time travel times are used to generate dynamic and accurate medical accessibility assessments. The results show that the overall medical accessibility in southern Guangzhou shows a spatial pattern that decreases from the urban area to the periphery. Panyu District is generally better than Nansha District. About 90% of the population in the urban area can obtain all levels of medical care within an acceptable travel distance, but overall nearly half of the population still does not have access to any medical resources within the travel threshold; there are significant differences in the spatial accessibility of different levels of health services, and the accessibility of high-level hospitals is better than that of intermediate hospitals and community-level hospitals; the accessibility of public transportation The accessibility of medical treatment is far lower than that of private cars, and middle- and low-income groups who rely on public transportation are in a more disadvantaged situation when it comes to seeking medical treatment. The research results provide a scientific basis for the rational allocation of medical institutions and the optimization of transportation facilities.