Cross-district healthcare-seeking behavior analysis using two-stage VaDE clustering approach:A case study of district A,Shanghai
10.3969/j.issn.1674-2982.2025.08.004
- VernacularTitle:基于两阶段VaDE聚类的跨区就诊行为分析
- Author:
Wen-qi TIAN
1
;
Jia-zhen LIU
1
;
Zhi-yi WANG
1
;
Xin CUI
1
Author Information
1. 上海市卫生健康统计中心 上海 200040
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Two-stage VaDE;
Cross-district healthcare-seeking;
VAE;
K-Means
- From:
Chinese Journal of Health Policy
2025;18(8):29-37
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:Based on outpatient and emergency visit data,this study employs a staged VaDE model to uncover the heterogeneity structure of residents'healthcare-seeking behaviors and reveal cross-district mobility patterns.Methods:Outpatient and emergency visit records of permanent residents in District A,Shanghai,in 2024 were used.Each individual visit served as the analytical unit.A staged VaDE approach was applied for nonlinear dimensionality reduction and clustering,followed by feature analysis with cross-district visit rates.Results:The proposed model outperformed K-Means and VAE+K-Means in clustering performance,identifying seven typical healthcare-seeking patterns with significant differences in cross-district rates,demographic characteristics,care structures,and disease profiles.Cluster 1 comprised elderly patients with severe conditions and high cross-district rates;Cluster 2,young and middle-aged cross-district commuters;Cluster 3,mild-case or maternity-oriented visits;Cluster 4,infrequent visits by middle-aged and elderly patients;and Clusters 5～7,local chronic disease or low-burden visits.Conclusion:The staged VaDE model demonstrates strong capability in characterizing behavioral heterogeneity and identifying key cross-district mobility types,providing evidence for refined healthcare service management and regional coordination.
