A fine-grained evaluation of social vulnerability to COVID-19, healthcare access and built environmental disparities in Tokyo, Japan

Abstract

Measuring vulnerability to COVID-19 and healthcare accessibility at the fine-grained level serves as the foundation for spatially explicit health planning and policy making in response to future public health crises. However, the evaluation of vulnerability and healthcare accessibility is insufficient in Japan–a nation with high population density and super-aging challenges. Drawing on the 2022 census data, transport network, medical and digital cadastral data, land use maps, and points of interest data, our study extends the concept of vulnerability in the context of COVID-19 and constructs the first fine-grained measure of vulnerability and healthcare accessibility in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan–the most populated metropolitan region in the world. We delineate the vulnerable neighbourhoods with low healthcare access and further evaluate the disparity in healthcare access and built environment of areas at different levels of vulnerability. Our outcome datasets and findings provide nuanced and timely evidence to government and health authorities to have a holistic and latest understanding of social vulnerability to COVID-19 and healthcare access at a fine-grained level. Our analytical framework can be employed in different geographic contexts, guiding through place-based health planning and policy making in the post-COVID era and beyond.