TERRITORIAL ACCESSIBILITY OF MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS FOR THE RESIDENTS OF THE NORTH OF RUSSIA

Abstract

Access to health care is a key component that determines the possibility of the earliest-possible promotion of health and well-being in the context of everyday life. The article analyzes the spatial accessibility of health services for the population of certain areas of the North of Russia. Urbanized and rural areas in the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions and the Yamal-Nenets autonomous region were studied. OpenStreetMap data was used, including information about the location of medical institutions and settlements, and the configuration of road network. Using the ArcGIS Network Analyst toolkit, different accessibility zones were identified for each study area. It was revealed that large cities located in the north of Russia are sufficiently provided with medical care in terms of spatial accessibility. More relevant is the issue of providing specialized types of medical care. Even cities located close to each other show unequal possibilities of obtaining specialized health care. The concentration of specialized care in several centers, without taking into account their transport accessibility, requires additional time and carries risks for the population because of the untimely access to medical care. Rural population remains the most vulnerable in terms of the access to medical care.