Few measures of healthcare accessibility have considered multiple transportation modes when people seek healthcare. Based on the framework of the 2 Step Floating Catchment Area Method (2SFCAM), we proposed an innovative method to incorporate transportation modes into the accessibility estimation. Taking Florida, USA, as a study area, we illustrated the implementation of the multi-mode 2SFCAM, and compared the accessibility estimates with those from the traditional single-mode 2SFCAM. The results suggest that the multi-modal method, by accounting for heterogeneity in populations, provides more realistic accessibility estimations, and thus offers a better guidance for policy makers to mitigate health inequity issues.
Keywords: 2 Step Floating Catchment Area Method (2SFCAM); Geographic information system (GIS); Healthcare accessibility; Transportation mode.
© 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.