The Site Location of Hygienic and Health Centers Using AHP Method and GIS (A Case Study of Semnan)

In most cities, the lack of adequate allocation of space and optimal location of service and physical elements of the city, especially hospitals and the number of factors affecting the location of these centers, has led to an increasing number of urban problems and citizens. Therefore, this has made the need to use effective methods and computer systems in the optimal location of these centers more than ever. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution of the hospital and to determine the areas deprived of these services in Semnan according to the standards and criteria of hospital location. In this research, the spatial data were prepared using digital and linear maps and descriptive data were collected using statistics and field research which then connected to a database. Then, for each of the influential factors in locating the hospital, the related layers such as land compatibility, proximity to the center of areas, population, access to first-class communication networks, designing criteria, per capita and standards, and access radius were prepared , also in each layer the use restriction was specified through imposing the mentioned layers based on specific patterns and criteria; then it was analyzed and studied. After that, based on the studies and opinions of related experts, the effective factors in determining health centers were selected and using a hierarchical analysis process in pairs, both were compared and the weight of each was calculated. Finally, they were analyzed in GIS environment. At the same time, the findings of this analysis showed that the current need for health centers in Semnan, according to urban per capita, is at least 3 hospitals and the GIS was used to remove this shortage.