Evaluating spatial access to primary care and health disparities in a rural district of Sri Lanka: Implications for strategic health policy interventions.

ABSTRACT: Primary care accessibility is optimised by equity in service coverage, especially in resource-limited settings. This study examined spatial accessibility to private and public primary care facilities (PCFs) in the Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka, which offer both allopathic and alternative medicine, while analysing the correlation to social development indices. A two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) was applied to evaluate spatial accessibility across 657 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GNDs). Data on population, primary care doctors (PCDs), social development indices, and spatial administrative maps were collected from corresponding departments. The Spatial Accessibility Index (SAI) was analysed among 404 PCFs in the ArcGIS application and expressed as the number of PCDs per 10,000 popula

SUBMITTER: Abeyrathna P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12425277 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature