Payesh (Jun 2020)
Equity in hospital beds distribution in Zanjan Province, Iran
Abstract
Objective (s): Health equity as a health system objective means having fair access to needed healthcare services, paying healthcare costs according to payment capacity and enjoying the highest achievable standard of health. Equitable distribution of hospital beds increases people access to health services and as a result improves their health status. This study aimed to examine the equity in distribution of hospital beds in Zanjan Province, Iran. Methods: Data for this descriptive and cross sectional study was collected from the Ministry of Health and Iranian Statistics Center. All hospitals in Zanjan province were included in this study in 2016. The Gini coefficient was used to measure the equity of hospital beds distribution. Excel software was used for data analysis. Results: The population of Zanjan province was 1,057,461 and there were 12 hospitals with 1,538 beds there in 2016. There were approximately1.13 hospitals per 100,000 population and 1.45 hospital beds per 1000 population. Zanjan, Abhar and Khorramdareh counties have had the highest hospital beds per 1000 people. About 42% of hospitals and 72% of hospital beds were located in Zanjan city, the capital. The Gini coefficient for hospital beds distribution among Zanjan counties was 0.26. Conclusion: The distribution of hospital beds in Zanjan Province was relatively fair. Equitable allocation of hospital beds particularly in less developed cities is necessary for achieving population health fairness.
