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<p>This research presents the first national Geographic Information System (GIS) assessment of potential spatial accessibility to public maternity care facilities in the Republic of Serbia. Using a combination of maternity facility locations, Eurostat demographic data, Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) population grids, and OpenRouteService isochrone modeling, accessibility was evaluated through 30- and 60-min travel-time thresholds. The analysis included 55 public maternity facilities and estimated accessibility for females of reproductive age across Serbia’s 25 NUTS3 districts. The results indicate that approximately 76% of females of reproductive age live within 30&#xa0;min of a maternity facility, while about 97% are located within 60&#xa0;min. At the same time, the findings reveal important spatial inequalities, since 24% (approx. 310,000) females of reproductive age remain outside the 30-min zone and 3% (approx. 21,000) outside the 60-min zone. Validation against Google Maps showed that the model produced generally acceptable estimates, although local deviations were observed, particularly in more complex travel contexts. A supplementary and microlocation analysis in the capital city of Belgrade further showed that actual travel times may vary substantially during the day, with one sampled route ranging from 18 to 54&#xa0;min depending on traffic conditions. The study shows that national accessibility to maternity care in Serbia is relatively high, but that important regional and suburban disparities remain. The findings further suggest that accessibility is influenced not only by the number of maternity facilities but also by their spatial distribution, and access to tertiary care. In addition to its substantive findings, the paper offers a reproducible methodological framework for evaluating maternity care accessibility using open data and free geospatial tools.</p>

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Mapping potential spatial accessibility to maternity care facilities in Serbia: a national GIS analysis

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月23日

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  • Filip Arnaut,
  • Ljiljana Pantović,
  • Ivan Ivanović,
  • Biljana Stanković,
  • Maja Krstić,
  • Dragana Petrović,
  • Sreten Jevremović

摘要

This research presents the first national Geographic Information System (GIS) assessment of potential spatial accessibility to public maternity care facilities in the Republic of Serbia. Using a combination of maternity facility locations, Eurostat demographic data, Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) population grids, and OpenRouteService isochrone modeling, accessibility was evaluated through 30- and 60-min travel-time thresholds. The analysis included 55 public maternity facilities and estimated accessibility for females of reproductive age across Serbia’s 25 NUTS3 districts. The results indicate that approximately 76% of females of reproductive age live within 30 min of a maternity facility, while about 97% are located within 60 min. At the same time, the findings reveal important spatial inequalities, since 24% (approx. 310,000) females of reproductive age remain outside the 30-min zone and 3% (approx. 21,000) outside the 60-min zone. Validation against Google Maps showed that the model produced generally acceptable estimates, although local deviations were observed, particularly in more complex travel contexts. A supplementary and microlocation analysis in the capital city of Belgrade further showed that actual travel times may vary substantially during the day, with one sampled route ranging from 18 to 54 min depending on traffic conditions. The study shows that national accessibility to maternity care in Serbia is relatively high, but that important regional and suburban disparities remain. The findings further suggest that accessibility is influenced not only by the number of maternity facilities but also by their spatial distribution, and access to tertiary care. In addition to its substantive findings, the paper offers a reproducible methodological framework for evaluating maternity care accessibility using open data and free geospatial tools.