ABSTRACT:
In this study, we examine the spatio-temporal relationship between climate-based covariates and sales of diarrhoea medication across Clicks Pharmacy stores in the Western Cape. Diarrhoeal diseases are known to be sensitive to environmental conditions. The primary aim is to understand how changes in climate-based covariates (across different regions and over time) affect the demand for diarrhoeal medication. We utilise a distance-based matrix enhanced with a fuzzy lattice structure to capture real-world accessibility. This approach incorporates factors such as proximity (e.g., drive time and road accessibility). The aim is to improve the model’s ability to represent how geographic distance and infrastructure influence consumer access to medication, and how these access patterns evolve in response to climate variations. The focus will be on temporal and geographic patterns in the data, exploring how sales evolve within individual stores and whether shifts in one location are associated with broader network effects or local clustering among nearby stores.