Health care accessibility and second homes: A spatial analysis in South-East Norway

Sammanfattning: While the government in Norway strives for equity in health and access, factors of urbanization, modernization, and sustainable development may discourage advancement in rural municipalities. In the rural hinterlands, often where the mountain belt resides, this is known to be caused by declining employment-rates in typical rural industries like agriculture and forestry. A consequence of this has been outmigration and lower numbers in the permanent population in most rural municipalities (Rye et al., 2011). Simultaneously, there is an ongoing trend of more second homes, particularly in rural areas, ascribed to second-home owners living in the cities. More second homes are evident from the country's growth of second homes on par with residential buildings since the 1970s and the existing second-home agglomerations around the major cities (Arnesen et al., 2011). The increased technical standard in second homes, from traditional cottages to high standard recreational homes with electricity- and water-utilities has also increased the year-round frequency of use (ibid). And while the political narrative is urbanization, this increased frequency of use in second homes may support a record of significant rural redistribution with second homes and domestic migration at its core (Ellingsen, 2017). The seasonal displacement from the cities to the recreational hinterland affects supply-demand ratios to important amenities i.e. casualty clinics, ambulance stations, and hospitals. This thesis investigates the current disparity using a GIS-approach.