Different configurations of the two-step floating catchment area method for measuring the spatial accessibility to hospitals for people living with disability: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Poor spatial accessibility to hospital services is associated with higher morbidity and mortality rates among people living with disability. Improved methods to evaluate spatial accessibility are needed. This study measured the potential spatial accessibility of people living with disability by applying four configurations of the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method to recommend the best model for use in health services research. METHODS: 2SFCA and an enhanced version (E2SFCA) were used to measure hospital accessibility for people living with disability. We also developed and embedded a non-spatial severity index into the two 2SFCA models. We used 16,186 records of people living with disability experience to evaluate the methodological performance across 68 neighbourhoods of the city of Ahvaz, located in south-western Iran. The models’ performance were measured through correlation of the four accessibility scores with the distance to closest hospital for each neighbourhood centroid. RESULTS: Among the four models used to measure spatial accessibility, the E2SFCA integrated with the severity index displayed the best performance. Most people with disabilities lived in neighbourhoods located in the South-western and central areas of the city. Interestingly, south-western neighbourhoods had poor hospital accessibility score and were identified as unmet need areas for access to health services. CONCLUSIONS: Inclusion of the severity factor in the E2SFCA improved access measurements. Identifying areas with poor levels of hospital accessibility can help policymakers design tailored interventions and improve accessibility to hospital-based care in urban settings for people living with disability. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13690-021-00601-8.