Routing for Healthcare in Underserved Areas
Marilène Cherkesly – Associate Professor, Department of Analytics, Operations and Information Technology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada
In this presentation, we introduce, model and solve two routing problems to improve healthcare accessibility in underserved areas. This research project is aligned with Goal 3 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals which “ensur[es] healthy lives and promot[es] well-being at all ages”. In underserved areas, e.g., remote areas, conflict and post-conflict zones and refugee camps, the network is often sparse which complexifies the logistical activities. First, we design a community healthcare network for remote regions. In this network, community healthcare workers and their supervisors are located to cover the population seeking healthcare, and supervisors are routed to conduct training with community healthcare workers. Second, we propose a mobile clinic network for conflict zones. In that context, total healthcare benefits which is composed of coverage and continuity benefits are maximized. Third, we propose different mathematical models to tackle the “routing” aspect of the two problems. These models differ according to their sets of variables and of constraints, and we discuss their theoretical strengths and weaknesses. Finally, we conduct computational experiments on real-life instances as well as thorough sensitivity analyses to derive appropriate managerial insights.
Location
Pavillon André-Aisenstadt
Campus de l'Université de Montréal
2920, chemin de la Tour
Montréal Québec H3T 1J4
Canada