Modelling the spatial accessibility of the elderly to healthcare services in Beijing, China

In the context of rapid population aging, Beijing is facing great challenges in providing healthcare services for the elderly. The objective of this study is to measure the spatial accessibility of the elderly to healthcare services in Beijing. A major challenge is that healthcare services are not exclusive for the elderly, so the elderly must compete with the non-elderly for access to healthcare services. In this study, we have developed a multi-mode and variable-demand two-step floating catchment area model for measuring spatial accessibility of the elderly to healthcare services, taking into account the competition between the elderly and non-elderly. This is modeled by differences in demand intensity and mobility. The elderly have a higher demand intensity and are disadvantaged in mobility due to their higher dependence on public transportation than the non-elderly. To improve the elderly’s healthcare accessibility, more healthcare resources should be allocated and the public transportation to hospitals should be improved, especially in peripheral areas. The proposed model can also be applied in other scenarios considering multiple population groups with different demand intensity for public services and mobility.