Are Health Services in New South Wales Available Where They are Needed? Using AURIN to Understand the Equity of Service Distribution and Future Demand

Abstract

There are valuable opportunities for new data and analytical tools available from the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN) to deliver insights into the spatial distribution of current and future health services. Using a national dataset covering health services characteristics and locations, and some of AURIN’s geographic and analytical tools, this research addressed questions of the equity of current health services distributions in New South Wales and the scale of future demand in Greater Sydney. Analysis of spatial variations in health services were compared to the distribution of the resident population using Gini coefficients. Results showed inequity with the top 20% of Statistical Areas containing 36% of the population but 55% of health services. An even more skewed distribution was found for the older population and health services specific to their needs. Beyond these equity issues, policy makers are seeking new approaches to the supply of health services given dwindling budget allocations and expanding population growth-driven demand. One approach includes improving available evidence to facilitate strategic planning for future provision. Indicative estimates and spatial patterns of future health service demands in the Greater Sydney region were derived by applying several scenarios of changing population to provider ratios to population projections. This applied research has shown the value of using locational data and analytical tools to investigate questions of distributional equity and uncover the spatial patterns of future demand. It has added to the evidence base sought by government in seeking efficiency improvements and formulating strategic planning initiatives.