Inequality of Healthcare Service Accessibility among the Elderly in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand: The Investigation of Geographical Factors

Jongjit Rittirong, University of Washington

The public health care coverage, supported by the Department of Health of the Ministry of Public Health, has been adopted in Thailand since 2001. Despite a main objective to serve Thai people equally, a significant number of elders cannot access those health services. This study investigates effects of distance on the healthcare service accessibility among the elderly carrying chronic diseases and to identify risk areas with demand for supplemental healthcare services. Closest distances between healthcare centers and residences are measured into straight line and transportation route distance using network analysis tools. Since the number of physician visitations, dependent variable, contains many zero and over dispersal, the zero-inflated negative binomial regression model is deployed to predict the rate of physician visitation. Four main categories associated with spatial factors are considered, including demographic factors, socio-economic background, living arrangement, and vehicle possession in households.