Mathematical modeling for selecting center locations for medical and health supplies reserve in Hainan Province.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To explore how to choose the center locations to build the medical and health supplies reserve among many island towns. METHODS: The center locations were selected from 18 towns Hainan Province, it's maximum service range (distance) was required to reach the minimum, or to minimize. RESULTS: Three scenarios were considered, the center locations included only one town, two towns, three towns. By the use of graph theory and MATLAB programming, a mathematical model was established to obtain the shortest distance and the shortest path between arbitrary two towns. CONCLUSIONS: We find out the center sites under certain conditions, and determine the specific service ranges of the center sites.