Putting Access to Veterinary Care on the Map: A Veterinary Care Accessibility Index

Abstract

Access to veterinary care is a complex problem that sits at the intersection of a number of societal factors including income inequality, access to transportation, language and cultural differences as well as the spatial distribution of veterinary care providers. This research aims to create an index evaluating accessibility of veterinary care across the contiguous United States and thus fill an important gap in the literature. The location and number of employees of veterinary clinics were aggregated at the county level. Projected pet population and household counts were used to normalize the number of employees to provide a relative assessment of the distribution of care access. Existing US Census data was used as percentile rankings to identify counties which may experience additional, non-spatial, barriers to care. By combining the percentile rankings of each of the variables, an overall index was created, evaluating the relative accessibility of veterinary care in each of the counties of the contiguous US. This work can be used by organizations looking to improve access to care or by policymakers considering legislation that impacts this issue. It may also be of use to individuals in human health care as they consider the intersection of human wellness and companion animal wellness.