Access to healthcare resources in the cities of west of Iran

Abstract

Background : The healthcare sector is one of the most important sectors in the development of each country, and the disparities in the distribution of health resources will reduce the level of development. The aim of this study was to examine the physical accessibility and degree of development in healthcare resources in the cities of five western provinces, including Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Ilam, Lorestan and Hamadan by numerical taxonomy method in 2012. Methods: The study sample of this cross-sectional study included 51 cities of five Western provinces of Iran. The physical accessibility and degree of development of healthcare resources were evaluated by numerical taxonomy technique using 23 indicators of health resources. Data were obtained from the statistical yearbooks of provinces in 2012. The data analysis was done by Excel and Arc GIS software. Results: The cities of Kermanshah and Salas-e-Babajani had the highest (F=0.59) and lowest (F=1.07) degree of development in terms of access to healthcare resources, respectively. Also, 50% of Kermanshah cities, 40% of Kurdistan cities, 37.5% of Ilam cities, 40% of Lorestan cities and about 88.8% of Hamadan cities were found to have good and very good status in access to healthcare services.. Conclusion: This study showed a large gap between the cities of one province and among the western provinces in access to healthcare resources.