Improving Equity in Healthcare Access Through Network Design: A Case Study of Specialist Cancer Care in Rwanda
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Cancer is a growing cause of death in Rwanda. Addressing inequity in access to cancer care requires policy solutions that consider cost, demand for care, provider availability, and barriers to healthcare access. In this talk, we consider an important barrier to access - poor road conditions that lead to long travel times to access specialist cancer care in Rwanda. We formulate a network design problem that considers road improvements and facility expansion simultaneously. We parameterize the model using publicly available data and propose solutions that align with the objectives of government and NGO partners.