Facility Attractiveness and Social Vulnerability Impacts on Spatial Accessibility to Opioid Treatment Programs in South Carolina

Parisa Bozorgi, Jan M. Eberth, Jeannie P. Eidson and Dwayne E. Porter
Additional contact information
Parisa Bozorgi: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Jan M. Eberth: Rural and Minority Health Research Center, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29210, USA
Jeannie P. Eidson: South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), Columbia, SC 29201, USA
Dwayne E. Porter: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: Opioid dependence and opioid-related mortality have been increasing in recent years in the United States. Available and accessible treatments may result in a reduction of opioid-related mortality. This work describes the geographic variation of spatial accessibility to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and identifies areas with poor access to care in South Carolina. The study develops a new index of access that builds on the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method, and has three dimensions: a facility attractiveness index, defined by services rendered incorporated into the Huff Model; a facility catchment area, defined as a function of facility attractiveness to account for variable catchment size; and a Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to account for nonspatial factors that mitigate or compound the impacts of spatial access to care. Results of the study indicate a significant variation in access to OTPs statewide. Spatial access to OTPs is low across the entire state except for in a limited number of metropolitan areas. The majority of the population with low access (85%) live in areas with a moderate-to-high levels of social vulnerability. This research provides more realistic estimates of access to care and aims to assist policymakers in better targeting disadvantaged areas for OTP program expansion and resource allocation.

Keywords: Geographic Information Systems (GIS); spatial accessibility; opioids; access to care; catchment area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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