Analysis of spatial pattern and influencing factors of private clinics in the main urban area of Guiyang in China from 2021 to 2022 based on multi-source data

BACKGROUND: Private clinics are important places for residents to obtain daily medical care. However, previous researches mainly focused on public medical institutions but ignored the issue of systematic allocation of social medical resources such as clinics. It is critical to understand the private clinics distribution to analyze the rational allocation of medical resources and the spatial difference. METHODS: Based on the field survey, land census, population density, and economic data from Guiyang, this study analyzes the spatial pattern of private clinics in the main urban area of Guiyang and the influencing factors by using spatial analysis methods such as kernel density, standard deviation ellipses, and geo-detector. RESULTS: The private clinics in the main urban area of Guiyang are characterized by "inner dense, outer sparse dense," showing an overall spatial clustering feature of "four cores and two belts with many points" and "dense inside and sparse outside." Different types of private clinics have distinct spatial distribution characteristics and agglomeration forms. The growth of private clinics is closely linked to the population growth of mountainous cities. The most important factors influencing the spatial pattern of private clinics are residential land factors, followed by traffic factors and population density. The impact of economic, natural, and spatial factors is minimal. When using a geo-detector, the results of multi-factor interaction differ from those of single factors, and factor interactions have greater explanatory power than single factors in clinic distribution. CONCLUSION: This study investigates the geographic distribution and influencing variables of private clinics in typical mountain cities and identifies the causes of the current disparity in the distribution of healthcare resources. It is necessary to gradually develop the primary healthcare system in mountainous cities with legislation, counterpart support, and social resources. While ensuring equal access to health care for low-income people and mobile populations, various medical needs of community members should be fully considered and implemented as soon as possible.