Geographical Thinking: S4E21 – Redefining Rurality in Healthcare Access
Join us as we navigate the complex landscape of rural healthcare! In season 4, episode 21 of Geographical Thinking, “Redefining Rurality in Healthcare Access”, we’re talking with Tomoko McGaughey, a researcher from Carleton University who is redefining our understanding of rurality and its impact on healthcare access. Together, we’ll explore how new models and innovative GIS tools are transforming how we think about healthcare delivery in rural and remote communities and uncovering the challenges and opportunities ahead. 0:00 – Episode summary 0:37 – Intros 1:42 – Rurality in health care access 4:28 – Understanding rurality 8:13 – Where did the idea come from? 11:50 – Lessons from other countries 14:00 – Weather, transportation and land use 16:58 – Gender 21:09 – The role of GIS 25:16 – Future implications 30:40 – How to learn more 32:40 – Outro We’re posting new episodes full of inspiring geography stories at least monthly. Subscribe to Esri Canada’s channel so you never miss a new episode of Geographical Thinking! Looking for resources on what we discussed in today’s podcast? Check them out below! Tomoko McGaughey: https://carleton.ca/determinants/people/tomoko-mcgaughey/ For more information about Tomoko’s research and how to get in contact, check out her research page! As a PhD student at Carleton University, her research focuses on social determinants of health, with a specific interest in health equity and geographical analyses of public health. Spatial Determinants of Health Lab: https://carleton.ca/determinants/ Carleton University’s Spatial Determinants of Health Lab examines the factors affecting population health, with a focus on geographic and social determinants, health disparities and equity. Canada Post Postal Code Guidelines: https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/articles/addressing-guidelines/postal-codes.page As mentioned in the episode, the parts of your postal code have a deeper meaning! This resource contains Canada Post's official guidelines for postal codes, including formatting and best practices. Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia Plus (ARIA+): https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/standards/australian-statistical-geography-standard-asgs-edition-3/jul2021-jun2026/remoteness-structure/remoteness-areas A detailed explanation of Australia's remoteness classification system, which divides the country into areas based on geographic distance from urban centres to define levels of remoteness for statistical purposes. Kaneko et al., 2023: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/13/6/e068800.full.pdf A study that developed a Rurality Index for Japan (RIJ) to assess healthcare disparities in rural areas using population density, distance to hospitals, remote islands and weather. How rural are we?: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/1a16946a7401469e8460104a97e3f8a8?item=5 Using ArcGIS StoryMaps, Tomoko provides a deeper dive into her research into redefining rurality and its connections to healthcare accessibility.