# Assessing the accessibility of care facilities for older adults with integration of their choice preferences: a case study of Fuzhou’s main urban area, China

## TL;DR

This study evaluates how well older adults in Fuzhou can access care facilities, considering both physical access and personal preferences.

## Contribution

The study introduces a new method integrating subjective preferences into spatial accessibility analysis for elderly care planning.

## Key findings

- There are significant spatial mismatches between care facility distribution and older adults' needs in Fuzhou.
- Using micro-scale community units improves the precision of accessibility analysis.
- Incorporating choice preferences enhances planning for age-friendly cities.

## Abstract

Against the backdrop of rapid population aging in China, optimizing the spatial allocation of older adults’ care facilities has become increasingly important. This study evaluates both objective and preference-based accessibility to address gaps in precision planning for aged care. Focusing on Fuzhou’s main urban area, this research investigates three facility types: institutional care service facilities, community day care centers, and home-based care service stations. Using a modified Gaussian two-step floating catchment area (MG2SFCA) method with residential communities as analytical units, this research conduct accessibility analysis integrated with older adults’ choice preferences to quantify disparities between actual and willingness-weighted accessibility. Findings reveal significant spatial mismatches between facility distribution and older adults’ needs across all three types. Building on this, we develop street-level typological classifications (Gain/Attenuation/Risk) to propose context-specific optimization strategies. The study’s innovations lie in: (1) advancing analytical precision through micro-scale community units, and (2) incorporating subjective care preferences into spatial evaluation models, thereby providing evidence-based planning references for age-friendly city development.