Health care visits during the COVID-19 pandemic: A spatial and temporal analysis of mobile device data

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Creator
  • Wang J.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of City and Regional Planning
  • McDonald N.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of City and Regional Planning
  • Cochran A.L.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of City and Regional Planning
  • Oluyede L.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of City and Regional Planning
  • Wolfe M.
    • Affiliation: School of Medicine, UNC Center for Health Equity Research
  • Prunkl L.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of City and Regional Planning
Abstract
  • Transportation disruptions caused by COVID-19 have exacerbated difficulties in health care delivery and access, which may lead to changes in health care use. This study uses mobile device data from SafeGraph to explore the temporal patterns of visits to health care points of interest (POIs) during 2020 and examines how these patterns are associated with socio-demographic and spatial characteristics at the Census Block Group level in North Carolina. Specifically, using the K-medoid time-series clustering method, we identify three distinct types of temporal patterns of visits to health care facilities. Furthermore, by estimating multinomial logit models, we find that Census Block Groups with higher percentages of elderly persons, minorities, low-income individuals, and people without vehicle access are areas most at-risk for decreased health care access during the pandemic and exhibit lower health care access prior to the pandemic. The results suggest that the ability to conduct in-person medical visits during the pandemic has been unequally distributed, which highlights the importance of tailoring policy strategies for specific socio-demographic groups to ensure equitable health care access and delivery.
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  • Article
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
License
  • Attribution 4.0 International
Journal title
  • Health and Place
Journal volume
  • 72
Language
  • English
Version
  • Publisher
Funder
  • US Department of Transportation's University Transportation Center
  • STRIDE
  • North Carolina Policy Collaboratory
  • North Carolina General Assembly
  • North Carolina Coronavirus Relief Fund
  • Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education Center
ISSN
  • 1353-8292
Publisher
  • Elsevier Ltd

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