Correlating Access to Primary Medical Care and Veterinary Care Providers: A Novel Application of Spatial Gravity Modelling
Increasingly, health professionals are recognizing the need for a more holistic, or One Health, approach to wellness. Companion animals share the lives and homes of many Americans, and yet little research exists on the intersection of disparities of access to veterinary care and access to human heal...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Veterinary Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/10/9/565 |
| _version_ | 1797576427604803584 |
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| author | Sue M. Neal |
| author_facet | Sue M. Neal |
| author_sort | Sue M. Neal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Increasingly, health professionals are recognizing the need for a more holistic, or One Health, approach to wellness. Companion animals share the lives and homes of many Americans, and yet little research exists on the intersection of disparities of access to veterinary care and access to human health care. This research aims to fill that gap by exploring the use of a spatial model that identifies the relationship of supply and demand while also considering reductions as a function of travel time to a care facility. Four counties in Alabama were analyzed at the census tract level to determine the supply of primary care physicians and veterinary care providers. This research provides a unique application of the Enhanced Two-Step Floating Catchment Area model by independently examining access to each type of care and then comparing both access supply values at the census level. Results indicated a statistically significant positive relationship between access to both types of care, implying areas with lower access to primary care have concomitantly low access to veterinary care. Implications for practice include the introduction of this methodological approach, identification of future parameter specification research to improve the approach, and identification of an area of significant concern in the One Health framework. Further, the results can inform solution strategies such as offering integrated care interventions for both humans and their companion animal household members with direct use for policymakers aimed at increasing equitable access to health care across the One Health spectrum. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:52:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b1981c30b9c246c2811a4d9fcab39f4c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2306-7381 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:52:48Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-b1981c30b9c246c2811a4d9fcab39f4c2023-11-19T13:20:56ZengMDPI AGVeterinary Sciences2306-73812023-09-0110956510.3390/vetsci10090565Correlating Access to Primary Medical Care and Veterinary Care Providers: A Novel Application of Spatial Gravity ModellingSue M. Neal0Department of Political Science, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR 72467, USAIncreasingly, health professionals are recognizing the need for a more holistic, or One Health, approach to wellness. Companion animals share the lives and homes of many Americans, and yet little research exists on the intersection of disparities of access to veterinary care and access to human health care. This research aims to fill that gap by exploring the use of a spatial model that identifies the relationship of supply and demand while also considering reductions as a function of travel time to a care facility. Four counties in Alabama were analyzed at the census tract level to determine the supply of primary care physicians and veterinary care providers. This research provides a unique application of the Enhanced Two-Step Floating Catchment Area model by independently examining access to each type of care and then comparing both access supply values at the census level. Results indicated a statistically significant positive relationship between access to both types of care, implying areas with lower access to primary care have concomitantly low access to veterinary care. Implications for practice include the introduction of this methodological approach, identification of future parameter specification research to improve the approach, and identification of an area of significant concern in the One Health framework. Further, the results can inform solution strategies such as offering integrated care interventions for both humans and their companion animal household members with direct use for policymakers aimed at increasing equitable access to health care across the One Health spectrum.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/10/9/565One Healthaccess to carepublic health accessveterinary care accessfloating catchmentE2SFCA |
| spellingShingle | Sue M. Neal Correlating Access to Primary Medical Care and Veterinary Care Providers: A Novel Application of Spatial Gravity Modelling Veterinary Sciences One Health access to care public health access veterinary care access floating catchment E2SFCA |
| title | Correlating Access to Primary Medical Care and Veterinary Care Providers: A Novel Application of Spatial Gravity Modelling |
| title_full | Correlating Access to Primary Medical Care and Veterinary Care Providers: A Novel Application of Spatial Gravity Modelling |
| title_fullStr | Correlating Access to Primary Medical Care and Veterinary Care Providers: A Novel Application of Spatial Gravity Modelling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Correlating Access to Primary Medical Care and Veterinary Care Providers: A Novel Application of Spatial Gravity Modelling |
| title_short | Correlating Access to Primary Medical Care and Veterinary Care Providers: A Novel Application of Spatial Gravity Modelling |
| title_sort | correlating access to primary medical care and veterinary care providers a novel application of spatial gravity modelling |
| topic | One Health access to care public health access veterinary care access floating catchment E2SFCA |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/10/9/565 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT suemneal correlatingaccesstoprimarymedicalcareandveterinarycareprovidersanovelapplicationofspatialgravitymodelling |