Analysis of Distribution and Public Accessibility of Dental Clinics in Johor, Malaysia using Geographic Information System (GIS) Methods

Aims: To evaluate the distribution and accessibility of dental clinics in Johor, Malaysia using GIS methods.

Study Design: Retrospective GIS-based study utilizing existing open-access secondary data.

Place and Duration of Study: Qualiteeth Dental Clinic, between January 2021 and May 2021.

Methodology: The location of each dental clinic in Johor was obtained from the Official Portal of the Ministry of Health Malaysia. The population data of each district in Johor were retrieved from the Department of Statistics Malaysia, Pocket Stats Quarter 1 2021. The map of Johor and its district boundaries were extracted from DIVA-GIS and mapped. All data for analysis were extracted from the integrated database in Quantum GIS (QGIS) into Microsoft Excel.

Results: Johor had a total population of 3.78 million up to the 1st quarter of 2021. There were a total of 395 dental clinics, consisting of 330 private and 65 public dental clinics within the state. It exhibited an overall dental clinic to population (DCtP) ratio of 1 dental clinic per 9,264 residents. The ratio of public dental clinics to population (PuCtP) was 1: 56,298 while the ratio of private dental clinics to population was (PrCtP) was 1: 11,089. The district which has the least number of dental clinics available to serve the population was Mersing. Disparities were found in primary dental clinics, with clinics more sparsely distributed in peripheral districts than in central districts.

Conclusion: The spatial analysis shows a trend of urban clustering of private and public dental clinics. Besides, the relationship between DCtP ratio and population density was directly proportional, and dental clinics were distributed relative to the relative wealth. More private dental clinics could be found in districts with higher mean monthly household incomes.