- 期刊
- OpenAccess
The Effects of Clustering and Population Density on the Geographic Distribution of Hemodialysis Facilities in Northern Taiwan
摘要
BACKGROUND: The satellite hemodialysis facilities and the in-center ones are supposed to compete against each other to recruit patients. However, it is not clear what factors influence their geographic distribution in Taiwan. Here we analyzed the association between the number of hemodialysis facilities and the population density, and the geographic distribution of different types of hemodialysis facilities in three neighboring cities in northern Taiwan, namely Taipei City, New Taipei City, and Taoyuan City. METHODS: The addresses of 216 hemodialysis facilities were obtained from the Taiwan Society of Nephrology, and the population density of individual districts in three cities was available online from respective city governments. The density of hemodialysis facility in a district was defined as the count of the hemodialysis facilities per population density (1,000 people per km^2). The geographic distribution of these facilities in relation to the transportation infrastructures was visualized by the Google Map. RESULTS: The number of hemodialysis facilities in the individual districts in Taipei City, New Taipei City, and Taoyuan City was correlated significantly with the population density (Pearson correlation coefficient: 0.644, P ＜ 0.001, n = 54). The density of hemodialysis facility in New Taipei City was 0.15-9.91 hemodialysis facilities per 1,000 people per km^2 (n = 16, out of total 29 districts, not including those without any hemodialysis facility), which was significantly higher than that in Taipei City (0.13-2.44, n = 12) (Mann-Whitney U test, U = 51.00, P = 0.037, n = 28). The number of hemodialysis facilities and the population density in the districts of Taipei City were not correlated with each other; however, they were in the districts on New Taipei City and Taoyuan City (Pearson correlation coefficient: 0.130, P = 0.688, n = 12; 0.750, P ＜ 0.001, n = 29; 0.856, P ＜ 0.001, n = 13, respectively). The density of hemodialysis facility was substantially high in the Beitou, Neihu, and Shilin Districts in Taipei City, and in the Sindian and Sansia Districts in New Taipei City. In both Taipei City and New Taipei City, the density of hemodialysis facility in the Districts with major hospitals in them was significantly higher than those without (Mann-Whitney U test, U = 2.5, P = 0.022, n = 12, and U = 21, P = 0.001, n = 16, respectively). CONCLUSION: The geographic distribution of the hemodialysis facilities in northern Taiwan suggests coexistence of the competitive and complementary relationships between satellite and in-center hemodialysis facilities.