Integration of GIS, Shannon Entropy and Multi-Criteria Decision Making for Hospital Site Selection

In this study, a hybrid methodology consisting of geospatial information systems (GIS), Shannon Entropy (SE) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is proposed for a hospital site selection problem in Tehran, Iran. SE was used for determining the objective weights of the employed criteria which can model the existing uncertainty in the decision criteria. TOPSIS is a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method. According to the results obtained from implementing the SE, the distance from existing hospitals criterion had the highest weight in the optimum hospital site selection. The findings of the research have proved the suitability of using the integration of SE and TOPSIS for the optimum hospital site selection.