Disparities in Spatial Access to Emergency Surgical Services in the US.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Hospitals with emergency surgical services provide essential care for a wide range of time-sensitive diseases. Commonly used measures of spatial access, such as distance or travel time, have been shown to underestimate disparities compared with more comprehensive metrics.

Objective

To examine population-level differences in spatial access to hospitals with emergency surgical capability across the US using enhanced 2-step floating catchment (E2SFCA) methods.

Design, setting, and participants

A cross-sectional study using the 2015 American Community Survey data. National census block group (CBG) data on community characteristics were paired with geographic coordinates of hospitals with emergency departments and inpatient surgical services, and hospitals with

SUBMITTER: McCrum ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9568808 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature