COVID-19 test sites in Victoria approaching Stage 4 restrictions: evaluating the relationship between remoteness, travel time and population serviced.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

In Australia, people residing remotely typically experience increased travel time to health services, and remote health services often have unfavourable population-to-provider ratios. The state of Victoria was treated as a case study and a spatial analysis investigated the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) point-of-care-test (POCT) site location (Major City, Inner Regional or Outer Regional) on the mean travel time for closest residents and the number of closest residents.

Methods

A network analysis established the travel time from every mesh block in Victoria to the closest POCT site. Inferential analyses investigated the impact of POCT site location on travel time and the number of closest residents.

Results

Compared to

SUBMITTER: Lakhani A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8652517 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature