Frontiers in public health
Reducing rural health inequity through drone-based delivery: a spatial multi-criteria decision framework prioritizing epidemiological vulnerability in hub location
By Zhong J and Zhao Y.
Abstract
Objective
To alleviate spatial health inequities in rural areas by optimizing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) medical hub location based on an epidemiological vulnerability-driven approach, correcting for the tendency of current logistics-centric models to overlook high-need rural populations.
Methods
A spatial multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework was developed for a simulated rural-urban fringe experiencing severe demographic aging. We defined a novel Epidemiological Vulnerability Index (EVI) incorporating three core dimensions: demographic aging, chronic disease burden (e.g., cardiovascular risks), and baseline healthcare deprivation (ground EMS delay). The framework integrates Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with the enhanced two-step floating catchment area (E2SFCA) method, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to rank and allocate highly-prioritized UAV hub sites across 400 grid cells. All results are derived from a calibrated simulation environment and should be interpreted as model-based projections rather than empirical observations.
