Revealing spatiotemporal inequalities, hotspots, and determinants in healthcare resource distribution: insights from hospital beds panel data in 2308 Chinese counties

Ensuring universal health coverage and equitable access to health services requires a comprehensive understanding of spatiotemporal heterogeneity in healthcare resources, especially in small areas. The absence of a structured spatiotemporal evaluation framework in existing studies inspired us to propose a conceptual framework encompassing three perspectives: spatiotemporal inequalities, hotspots, and determinants.