A Simulation of Ageing and Care Accessibility in Italian Inner Areas

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: garrone, Roberto
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author garrone, Roberto
author_facet garrone, Roberto
contents Ageing societies face increasing strain on formal and informal care systems, particularly in low-density mountainous municipalities where sparse services and steep terrain constrain access. This study presents a spatially explicit agent-based model that integrates a road-network GIS, synthetic populations derived through Iterative Proportional Fitting, and behavioural heterogeneity to examine how alternative service configurations shape accessibility and caregiver burden. The model, applied to Premeno (Piedmont, Italy), compares a baseline distribution of ambulatory services with a relocation scenario at Villa Bernocchi. System-level indicators (Caregiver Effort, Overwhelmed Caregivers, Hours Not Cared, Walkability) and micro-spatial metrics (Walkability, Detour Ratio, Proximity) are analysed across 40 batches and 50 stochastic replications per scenario. Results reveal aggregate neutrality but pronounced local redistribution of accessibility. Sensitivity analysis shows that spatial impedance dominates accessibility, whereas behavioural capacity modulates care effort. The findings illustrate distinctive properties of complex adaptive social systems - emergence, heterogeneity, and feedback - demonstrating how computational social simulation can highlight policy trade-offs between spatial efficiency, social equity, and care sustainability in ageing territories.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_26496
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Simulation of Ageing and Care Accessibility in Italian Inner Areas
garrone, Roberto
Multiagent Systems
91D10, 68U20
I.2.11; I.6.3; I.6.4
Ageing societies face increasing strain on formal and informal care systems, particularly in low-density mountainous municipalities where sparse services and steep terrain constrain access. This study presents a spatially explicit agent-based model that integrates a road-network GIS, synthetic populations derived through Iterative Proportional Fitting, and behavioural heterogeneity to examine how alternative service configurations shape accessibility and caregiver burden. The model, applied to Premeno (Piedmont, Italy), compares a baseline distribution of ambulatory services with a relocation scenario at Villa Bernocchi. System-level indicators (Caregiver Effort, Overwhelmed Caregivers, Hours Not Cared, Walkability) and micro-spatial metrics (Walkability, Detour Ratio, Proximity) are analysed across 40 batches and 50 stochastic replications per scenario. Results reveal aggregate neutrality but pronounced local redistribution of accessibility. Sensitivity analysis shows that spatial impedance dominates accessibility, whereas behavioural capacity modulates care effort. The findings illustrate distinctive properties of complex adaptive social systems - emergence, heterogeneity, and feedback - demonstrating how computational social simulation can highlight policy trade-offs between spatial efficiency, social equity, and care sustainability in ageing territories.
title A Simulation of Ageing and Care Accessibility in Italian Inner Areas
topic Multiagent Systems
91D10, 68U20
I.2.11; I.6.3; I.6.4
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.26496