Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are naturally drawn to a location (for example, a labour catchment area[1]) or as established by governments or organizations such as education authorities or healthcare providers, for the provision of services.
Governments and community service organizations often define catchment areas for planning purposes and public safety such as ensuring universal access to services like fire departments, police departments, ambulance bases and hospitals.
In business, a catchment area is used to describe the influence from which a retail location draws its customers.
A catchment area in terms of a place people are drawn to could be a city, service or institution.
Understanding the catchment area helps health systems optimize service coverage, measure healthcare utilization, and identify underserved regions.
[14] Health catchment areas are often employed in research to study the relationship between geographical factors and healthcare outcomes.