Project: Spatial Accessibility of Rural Health Care in Colorado
Faculty: Nathan Ryan
Student: Yash Bhutwala, Alex Robinson, Jordan Kovacs, and Trung Tran
DP&S Liaison: Janine Glathar
Date: Summer 2015-Fall 2016
Nathan Ryan, Associate Professor of Mathematics, met with Janine Glathar and Luyang Ren in summer 2015 to discuss a project he was working on related to using big data to assess spatial accessibility of health care. His goal was to identify the specific GIS methods he would need for the project and learn how to call the required geoprocessing and analysis functions – such as geocoding, calculating drive-time areas, spatial selections and unions – through a Python application he was developing with his student research assistants (Yash Bhutwala ’17, Alex Robinson ’17, Jordan Kovacs ’20 and Trung Tran ’18).
Although the standard approach to measuring spatial accessibility to health care relies on 30 minute drive-time areas, Prof. Ryan’s team chose a different approach – the two-step floating catchment area – to account for the reality that drive-times to services in rural Colorado were significantly longer than in more suburban or urban areas. The project culminated with the students presenting their work at a poster session at the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) meeting in Colorado Springs, CO in November 2016.