Identifying and removing access barriers to the timely provision of comprehensive health care is increasingly important for the wellbeing of Australia's rapidly ageing and frail populations, particularly those in non‐metropolitan settings. This study has examined if current general practice (GP) locations in non‐metropolitan South Australia (SA) and Western Australia (WA) are geographically accessible to the rapidly growing frail and prefrail populations known to have a high level of health service use and reduced mobility. Geospatial analysis linking 60‐kilometre GP service catchments, 2016 population counts, and 2027 population projections has estimated that the size of the frail and prefrail population that live outside these GP service catchments will double, reaching 7,800 people by 2027. The maldistribution of GP locations was most evident in WA. As regional and remote populations continue to age, the challenge of health service provision, including geographic access to care, must be resolved to ensure that populations in these areas have the best opportunity to age well. Geospatial methods linking service and demographic information, such as the approach used in this analysis, can aid in planning the equitable provision of health care for older Australians.

中文翻译：

---

人口老龄化在澳大利亚区域和偏远地区提供的常规服务

确定和消除及时提供全面医疗保健的障碍对于澳大利亚快速老龄化和脆弱人群尤其是非大都市地区人口的福祉越来越重要。这项研究研究了快速增长的体弱者和脆弱人群（已知在医疗保健服务中的使用水平很高且数量减少）在地理上可以访问非大都市南澳大利亚州（SA）和西澳大利亚州（WA）的当前全科医生（GP）位置流动性。地理空间分析将60公里全科医生服务区，2016年人口计数和2027年人口预测联系在一起，估计生活在这些全科医生服务区以外的脆弱人群和脆弱人群的规模将翻倍，到2027年将达到7,800人。GP位置分布不均在西澳最为明显。随着区域和偏远人口的持续老龄化，必须解决包括地理上获得医疗服务在内的卫生服务的挑战，以确保这些地区的人口有最佳老龄化的机会。链接服务和人口统计信息的地理空间方法（例如本分析中使用的方法）可以帮助规划为澳大利亚老年人公平提供医疗服务。