Inter-Regional Comparison of Accessibility of Children to the Nearest Hospital With At Least 5 Full-Time Pediatricians in Japan

Background: 2,656 hospital had pediatric department in Japan and 10,108 pediatricians worked in these facilities in 2014. Only 3.80 pediatricians worked in a hospital on average. Sick children in Japan do not visit a general practitioner but a pediatrician, and children must visit a big pediatric department in order to receive medical treatment on a 24-hour basis.

Objects: To know the number and percentage of children who lived within 30 km, eqivalent to reachable areas within 1 hour by automobile, of the nearest hospital with at least 5 full-time pediatricians.

Methods: Japan is divided into 109,514 residential blocks under the Act on Indication of Residential Address. Child population under 15 years in each block was drawn from the 2010 Population Census. The list of hospitals with at least 5 full-time pediatricians as of 2014 was from the regional health authorities.

The number and percentage of children who lived in the residential blocks within 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 km of the nearest pediatric department with at least 5 pediatricians were calculated with Geographic Information Systems.

Results: 90.2% of children in Japan lived within 30 km of the nearest pediatric department (Figure, Table). However, in under-populated northern regions such as Hokkaido (75.5%) and Tohoku (59.1%), the percentile was lower compared with other regions.

Figure. Areas within 30 km of hospitals with at least 5 full-time pediatricians

Table. Child population within the stated distance from the nearest hospital with 5 full-time pediatricians

Conclusion: Most of children in Japan lived in the residential blocks within 30 km of hospitals with at least 5 full-time pediatricians. However, in under-populated northern regions, accessibility was lower compared with other regions.