Abstract : In South Korea we are currently facing with a decline in fertility rates and a significant reduction in pediatric healthcare resources. As a result, there is a shortage of pediatric care, which may be responsible for accelerating the collapse of the healthcare system for pediatric patients. This crisis may undermines an access to healthcare and spatial disparities in the access. Previous studies on healthcare accessibility have not adequately considered spatial accessibility, which is associated with the individual behaviors of patients and their arrival, movements, waiting, and treatment processes. To address this issue, in this study, we used an agent-based modeling to explore vulnerable areas for pediatric healthcare services while incorporating the entire processes of movements and treatment for individual patients in a dynamic environment. We take four districts in Southwest Seoul as a study area. A hot and cold spot analysis was conducted to identify actual vulnerabilities of pediatric healthcare services. The results help to assess the spatial inequalities in medical infrastructure, which in turn, supports decision making processes for stakeholders to newly install additional pediatric healthcare services.

Figure 1. Results of model iterations by output area ((a) Average Number of Hospitals Visited, (b) Average Travel Time)

Figure 2. Results of medical vulnerability exploration ((a) Average Number of Hospitals Visited, (b) Average Travel Time)

Figure 3. Exploration of medical vulnerability by output area ((a) Hotspots for average number of hospitals visited: Sinjeong 2-dong and Mullae-dong, (b) Hotspots for average travel time: Mok 1-dong and Sinjeong 2-dong, (c) Coldspots for average travel time: Sinwol-dong, (d) Coldspots for average travel time: Singil-dong)

Recommended citation: Kim, S., Lee, S., Kim, M., Lee, C., & Kang, J. Y. (2024). 에이전트 기반 모델링을 활용한 소아·청소년 의료 서비스 취약지 분석-서울 서남권 4개 자치구를 대상으로 (Vulnerability Assessment for Pediatric Healthcare Services Using Agent–based Modeling: A Case Study of Four Districts in Southwest Seoul). Journal of the Korean Geographical Society, 59 (2), 196-209.
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