Abstract:

Medical Geography or Health Geography has now become a well-established and important field of geographical research. This branch of geography analyses the interrelationship among health, disease, environment, and socio-economic conditions, and plays a significant role in human welfare. The present research paper examines the spatial and regional disparities in healthcare services in the Dakshin Dinajpur district. Through an analysis of the geographical distribution of health centres, hospitals, medical facilities, doctors, nurses, maternal health, child health, and healthcare infrastructure across different blocks of the district, an attempt has been made to identify the actual condition of healthcare services in the region.

Both primary and secondary data have been used in this study. Information has been collected through field surveys, questionnaires, Census data, and reports from the National Health Mission. The study reveals that although urban areas are comparatively more developed in terms of healthcare facilities, rural and border areas still suffer from significant inadequacies in healthcare services. In rural and border regions, shortage of doctors, poor transportation and communication systems, poverty, lack of health awareness, and insufficient healthcare infrastructure continue to act as major barriers to effective healthcare delivery. The final chapter of the study provides several practical recommendations for improving the healthcare system so that the overall health infrastructure and services of the district can be further developed.

Keywords:

Medical Geography, Health Infrastructure, Spatial Inequality, Rural Health.

Aim/Objectives

Methods