Identifying Spatial Matching between the Supply and Demand of Medical Resource and Accessing Carrying Capacity: A Case Study of Shenzhen, China

Previous Studies, such as the evaluation of the supply of and demand for regional medical resources and carrying capacity assessments, require further development. This paper aims to evaluate the carrying capacity and spatial distribution of medical resources in Shenzhen from the perspective of supply and demand, and to conduct a time-series variation of the coupling coordination degree from 1986 to 2019. The two-step floating catchment area method was employed to quantify the carrying capacity and coupling coordination degree method and spatial autocorrelation analysis were applied to analyze spatial distribution between supply and demand. The results were as follows. (1) The carrying capacity index in more than 50% of the districts was classified as low-grade. The percentage of regions with good grades was 8.27%. The regions with a high carrying capacity were distributed in the central and southeastern areas. (2) The coupling coordination continued to rise, increasing from 0.03397 in 1986 to 0.33627 in 2019. (3) The level of supply and demand for medical resources in Shenzhen increased from 1986 to 2019, and the highest degree of compatibility between the supply and the population size was largely concentrated in the western and eastern regions. This research can provide a theoretical reference for Shenzhen to rationally plan medical resources and improve the carrying capacity of medical resources.