Spatial distribution of dental care institutions and accessibility from day care facilities for people with disabilities

Objectives: This study evaluates the regional distribution of dental care institutions for people with disabilities and the facility-based spatial accessibility of daytime care facilities in South Korea.Methods: Public administrative data are used to identify registered people with disabilities, daytime care facilities, regional and national dental care centers, and dental institutions participating in the primary dental care pilot project for people with disabilities.The number of dental care institutions per 100,000 registered people with disabilities is calculated for each region.Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses are performed.Using QGIS, geographic information system analysis is conducted to map spatial distribution, perform kernel density estimation, and calculate straight-line distance from each daytime care facility to the nearest dental care institution.Results: A total of 602 dental care institutions are identified, comprising 583 pilot dental institutions, 18 regional dental care centers, and one national dental care center.Gyeonggi has the highest number of institutions, followed by Seoul and Busan.In terms of the number of institutions per 100,000 registered people with disabilities, Busan ranks the highest, while Jeonnam ranks the lowest.Moreover, the number of registered people with disabilities is strongly correlated with the number of pilot dental institutions and total number of dental care institutions.Among the 855 daytime care facilities, 677 (79.2%) are within 5 km of the nearest dental care institution, 750 (87.7%) are within 10 km of the nearest dental care institution, and 21 (2.5%) are located more than 30 km away from the nearest dental care institution.Conclusions: The number of dental care institutions for people with disabilities are higher in regions with larger disabled populations; however, facility-based spatial accessibility differs by region.Therefore, regional placement, transportation support, and linkage between daytime care facilities and dental care institutions should be considered to improve accessibility.