Turning into an aging society, social and economic burden grows heavier. Due to the characteristics of diseases associated with old age that prevent having normal daily lives, older populations require long-term hospitalizations. Thus, there is an increase in the number of elders utilizing care hosp...
Turning into an aging society, social and economic burden grows heavier. Due to the characteristics of diseases associated with old age that prevent having normal daily lives, older populations require long-term hospitalizations. Thus, there is an increase in the number of elders utilizing care hospital. Unlike regular hospitals, people do not come to care hospital for the purpose of diagnosis or treatments. Therefore, it is important for care hospital to be built in locations that fit their characteristics and purpose.
The main results of the location analysis of care hospital are as follows: first, the number of care hospital has greatly increased. The results of the regression analysis show that in 2009 the number of care hospital beds for the Seoul Metropolitan population of age 65 and over was in average 9.1 for every 1,000 people of that population. In 2014, the number of beds almost doubled with 18 beds per 1,000 people of that population. In order to see the associations between the areas with many care hospital and the nearby areas, I measured the spatial relations. Based on the results of year 2014, Seoul Metropolitan area was in shortage of care hospital compared to the number of population of age 65 and over, and it is assumed that the demand for care hospital in these areas are moving to the nearby areas. On the other hand, it was analyzed that the southwestern areas of Gyeonggi-do, like Ansan-si, Siheung-si, and etc., have surplus of care hospital.
Second, I divided the locations of care hospital into four categories: accessibility, demand factors, supply factors, and environmental factors and assessed the importance of each category. The result showed the accessibility was the most important factor with 0.420, followed by supply factors with 0.230. The environmental factors and the demand factors had low importance with 0.172. For combined importance by factors, general hospital and public transportation were assessed to be most important with 0.188 and 0.150, respectively. The reason behind this seems to be that due to the characteristics of care hospital, the liaison with a general hospital for emergency situations is viewed as the most necessary factor. It is assumed that public transportation is considered to be important for the visiting families of care hospital residents. In demand factors, the most important aspect was the household’s annual income with 0.080. This can be explained by the fact that, for the most cases, medical expenses are paid by the families of the care hospital residents and not by the resident him/herself. Therefore, people perceive the annual income that is high enough to afford the expenses as an important factor.
Third, I analyzed the kinds of distribution characteristics in new establishments and closings of care hospital. From 2010 to 2014, The areas in Seoul-si that had the most new establishments and closing downs of care hospital were Ganddong-gu, Gangseo-gu, and Jungrang-gu. In Incheon-si, the areas were Gyeyang-gu and Seo-gu. In Gyeonggi-do, the areas were Wonmi-gu of Bucheon-si, Sangrok-gu and Danwon-gu of Ansan-si. It was analyzed that the reason behind the fact that new establishments and closing downs of care hospital were centered on similar areas was the high competition between care hospitals due to increased number of care hospital. It was analyzed that the new care hospital have greater land sizes compared to the existing care hospital, and the land values were lower. Also, the new care hospitals are built near the areas with non-preferred industrial facilities, and the most highly related factor was the accessibility to a general hospital.
The implications of this study are summarized as follows: I were able to confirm that, although the populations of elders of age 65 years and over are rapidly increasing, the number of care hospital is increasing at a greater rate. Thus, some areas are experiencing oversupply of care hospital. With the care hospital being built in areas that are close to a general hospital and have convenient access to public transportations, there is an inconsistency of where demands are high for care hospital and where actual care hospital are being built. This can lead to excessive competitions, decrease in the quality of medical services, uniformity of service, and etc. that can result in closures of care hospital. Site selection for care hospital is one of the important policy related aspect that city planning and policy makers need to decide on. A careless decision will impose huge costs on the budget and inevitable environmental damage. Therefore, in order to resolve regional imbalances of spatial distribution of care hospital, I believe that introduction of policies, like limiting the total number of care hospital considering the demand, are necessary.
Turning into an aging society, social and economic burden grows heavier. Due to the characteristics of diseases associated with old age that prevent having normal daily lives, older populations require long-term hospitalizations. Thus, there is an increase in the number of elders utilizing care hospital. Unlike regular hospitals, people do not come to care hospital for the purpose of diagnosis or treatments. Therefore, it is important for care hospital to be built in locations that fit their characteristics and purpose.
The main results of the location analysis of care hospital are as follows: first, the number of care hospital has greatly increased. The results of the regression analysis show that in 2009 the number of care hospital beds for the Seoul Metropolitan population of age 65 and over was in average 9.1 for every 1,000 people of that population. In 2014, the number of beds almost doubled with 18 beds per 1,000 people of that population. In order to see the associations between the areas with many care hospital and the nearby areas, I measured the spatial relations. Based on the results of year 2014, Seoul Metropolitan area was in shortage of care hospital compared to the number of population of age 65 and over, and it is assumed that the demand for care hospital in these areas are moving to the nearby areas. On the other hand, it was analyzed that the southwestern areas of Gyeonggi-do, like Ansan-si, Siheung-si, and etc., have surplus of care hospital.
Second, I divided the locations of care hospital into four categories: accessibility, demand factors, supply factors, and environmental factors and assessed the importance of each category. The result showed the accessibility was the most important factor with 0.420, followed by supply factors with 0.230. The environmental factors and the demand factors had low importance with 0.172. For combined importance by factors, general hospital and public transportation were assessed to be most important with 0.188 and 0.150, respectively. The reason behind this seems to be that due to the characteristics of care hospital, the liaison with a general hospital for emergency situations is viewed as the most necessary factor. It is assumed that public transportation is considered to be important for the visiting families of care hospital residents. In demand factors, the most important aspect was the household’s annual income with 0.080. This can be explained by the fact that, for the most cases, medical expenses are paid by the families of the care hospital residents and not by the resident him/herself. Therefore, people perceive the annual income that is high enough to afford the expenses as an important factor.
Third, I analyzed the kinds of distribution characteristics in new establishments and closings of care hospital. From 2010 to 2014, The areas in Seoul-si that had the most new establishments and closing downs of care hospital were Ganddong-gu, Gangseo-gu, and Jungrang-gu. In Incheon-si, the areas were Gyeyang-gu and Seo-gu. In Gyeonggi-do, the areas were Wonmi-gu of Bucheon-si, Sangrok-gu and Danwon-gu of Ansan-si. It was analyzed that the reason behind the fact that new establishments and closing downs of care hospital were centered on similar areas was the high competition between care hospitals due to increased number of care hospital. It was analyzed that the new care hospital have greater land sizes compared to the existing care hospital, and the land values were lower. Also, the new care hospitals are built near the areas with non-preferred industrial facilities, and the most highly related factor was the accessibility to a general hospital.
The implications of this study are summarized as follows: I were able to confirm that, although the populations of elders of age 65 years and over are rapidly increasing, the number of care hospital is increasing at a greater rate. Thus, some areas are experiencing oversupply of care hospital. With the care hospital being built in areas that are close to a general hospital and have convenient access to public transportations, there is an inconsistency of where demands are high for care hospital and where actual care hospital are being built. This can lead to excessive competitions, decrease in the quality of medical services, uniformity of service, and etc. that can result in closures of care hospital. Site selection for care hospital is one of the important policy related aspect that city planning and policy makers need to decide on. A careless decision will impose huge costs on the budget and inevitable environmental damage. Therefore, in order to resolve regional imbalances of spatial distribution of care hospital, I believe that introduction of policies, like limiting the total number of care hospital considering the demand, are necessary.
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