Measuring spatial accessibility to adult day services for older adults using GIS

Abstract Adult day services (ADS) provide community-based long-term care for older adults with chronic medical, cognitive, or mental health conditions and/or disabilities that are at risk of needing institutional care. This study aims to (a) measure and compare the spatial accessibility to ADS across major racial and ethnic minority older adult groups, and to (b) identify underserved urban areas which have limited access to ADS. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we found little variation across ethnic and racial groups in accessibility to ADS; instead, most differences are between rural and urban areas. Underserved areas with a high older adult population in Los Angeles County were identified. Future research should incorporate other factors such as the organization’s capability, culture compatibility, types of services, and quality of services which may impact on ADS use among older adults.