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Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health (CARTEEH)

A USDOT University Transportation Center

Increases in Access to Healthcare

Increased access to healthcare indicates that more individuals, particularly the elderly, will be able to use public transportation to go about the city and interact with others, as well as to get to medical facilities promptly in the event of an emergency. It demonstrates the efficiency of the strategy, which strives to provide all vulnerable road users and other commuters with a healthy destination.1

This indicator helps determine the effectiveness of the following objectives

  • Less Contamination
  • Less Emissions
  • Less Traffic Noise
  • Connectivity and Inclusion
  • Healthy Destinations
  • Less Traffic Violence
  • Active Transportation
  • Green Space

Data Collection

The CDC’s National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is one of the most authoritative sources of data on healthcare access in the U.S. The NHIS collects data on various topics related to health and wellbeing, including access to healthcare, health insurance coverage, and health behaviors. The U.S. Census Bureau administers the survey on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The survey consists of in-person interviews with a nationally representative sample of households. Each year, a new sample of households is selected, and interviews are conducted with all eligible adults (aged 18 years or older) and children (aged 0-17 years) in the household. In most years, the NHIS samples about 35,000 households and interviews about 87,500 people. The NHIS data are publicly available and can be accessed through the CDC website. The data are released in both raw and processed forms. Researchers can use the data to conduct their analyses, or they can use the processed data that are already available.2

Examples

Better transport accessibility, better health: a health economic impact assessment study for Melbourne, Australia

Several studies have looked at the role of public transport in providing access to healthcare, focusing on how this affects different groups within society. One study found that those living in areas with better public transport access to healthcare were more likely to use preventive care services, such as screenings and vaccinations. This suggests that public transport can promote population health by improving access to necessary care. Another study found that older adults who used public transport to access healthcare had lower rates of hospitalization than those who did not use public transport. This highlights the importance of public transport in ensuring that vulnerable groups have good access to care.

https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-019-0853-y

1. Arcury, T. A., et al. “Access to transportation and health care utilization in a rural region.” The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association vol. 21,1 (2005): 31-8. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-0361.2005.tb00059.x
2. National health interview survey [Internet]. Cdc.gov. 2022 [cited 2022 Aug 1]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/index.htm