Most Palestinian
cities face a number of problems and challenges in terms of the poor
distribution of public services in general and the health services in
particular, and also their concentration in center of cities and
non-observance of planning standards in the distribution of services to
cope with population growth and urban expansion and the needs of the
population of these services. This study was to address the issue of
spatial planning of health services in the city of Tulkarem and its
suburbs using the techniques of geographic information systems (GIS).
The main objective of this study is to analyze the current spatial
distribution of health services and their suitability for spatial
planning standards that meets the needs of the community in the city of
Tulkarem and its suburbs, as well as providing a proposal for a better
spatial distribution and efficient health services in the study area
that could help stakeholders and decision makers to take appropriate
steps to develop this vital service. The methodology of study followed
the descriptive and analytical approach based on the results of the
census carried out by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in
2007, and the results of a comprehensive field survey carried out by the
author for public health services, hospitals and health centers,
including the health center of the UNRWA in the refugee camp of Tulkarem
and pharmacies in the study area, in addition to the current structural
plan of the city as a basis to identify planning areas, and calculating
the area and the population distribution.
The analysis and evaluation of the current spatial distribution of
health services was undertaken by comparing the standards of planning
for health services in some neighboring countries, and through the use
of neighborhood links and the scope of service and the impact of natural
distribution of area and population. The results of the analysis showed
that the health services, especially with regard to primary health care
centers and pharmacies in the study area suffer from poor and
inadequate distribution, causing pressure on the service and adversely
affect the level of health of the population. The study identified the
places that lack these services, and provided a planning proposal for
the establishment of four health centers and a proposal for the
establishment of nine new pharmacies in the study area in specific
locations using the applications of geographic information systems
(GIS).
The study recommended a number of recommendations, the most important
was the establishment of a general hospital in the region, since the
existing governmental general hospital in Tulkarem City is the only
hospital in the governorate of Tulkarem, which is not subject to
horizontal expansion in accordance with the planning standards and
suffering from the pressure of service by up to approximately twice the
currently available capabilities. In addition, the study recommended the
necessity of the development of these centers in terms of their
physical, administrative, human needs, and technical and medical
equipment to ease pressure on the centers and provide better service to
citizens.
The study also recommended the rationalization of the licensing of new
pharmacies in areas with a large number of pharmacies, in order to
promote the opening of pharmacies in areas of need for service and to
achieve more efficient spatial distribution.
Finally, the study recommended the development of the database on
pharmacies in the Ministry of Health in order to facilitate follow-up,
supervision and planning, where the existing archive is primitive and
does not achieve the minimum required level for future planning
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