Abstract
Background: Equity of access to health care services is one of the main goals of health system. Equity in resource distribution in health section constitutes one of the main dimensions of the equity. The aim of the study is determining how doctors, paramedics and hospital beds are distributed in Iran.Materials and Methods: This analytical study was conducted in Iran. Data on 2006-2013 were collected from Statistics Center of Iran and Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education. After determining the population of 31 provinces and number of physician, paramedics and hospital beds in them, the equal distribution of these facilities and personnel were analyzed using Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient. Stata 12 and DASP2.2 were used for analyzing Gini index. Results: The total number of physicians, paramedics and hospital beds were 37,000, 217,000 and 138,000, respectively in 2013. Tehran as the capital of Iran had the highest percentage of beds among all provinces. The number of physicians, paramedics and hospital beds per 10,000 population of the country were 5.6, 31.3 and 18.5, respectively for 2013. The calculated Gini coefficients for each of them were 0.47, 0.39 and 0.58, respectively.Conclusion: According to Gini coefficients, physicians, paramedics and hospital beds have an unequal distribution throughout the country. However, these distributions are different in different provinces. We recommend creating a comprehensive and continuous monitoring system for equitable allocation of health care resources.[GMJ.2016;5(3):122-130]
Highlights
There has been growth in the field of equity in recent years
Table-1 illustrates the number of physicians, paramedics and hospital beds in 2006 and 2013 in Iran’s provinces
According to this Table, Khorasan Razavi province had the highest number of physicians (36.152), paramedics (234.994) and hospital beds (139.942) and North Khorasan province had the least number of physicians (0.703), paramedics (4.564) and hospital beds (1.563) per 10,000 individuals in both studied periods (2006 and 2013)
Summary
There has been growth in the field of equity in recent years. Mostly policy makers, researchers and investigators employ this concept. Equity health measuring sector involves concepts like health level, distribution of health care resources, costs, use and access. Access to health care and its facilities is a fundamental right of all human beings In this context, the inequality in the geographical distribution of health resources has made access to health services difficult [6, 7, 10]. After determining the population of 31 provinces and number of physician, paramedics and hospital beds in them, the equal distribution of these facilities and personnel were analyzed using Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient. Conclusion: According to Gini coefficients, physicians, paramedics and hospital beds have an unequal distribution throughout the country. These distributions are different in different provinces. We recommend creating a comprehensive and continuous monitoring system for equitable allocation of health care resources.[GMJ.2016;5(3):122-130]
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