Distribution of General Practitioners in the Health System of Iran Using Equity Indices (Gini, Atkinson)

Although equity is a key motivation for providing hospital services to the public, resource distribution in governments, rarely focus on those who need the resources more. This study was done to investigate the distribution of general practitioners in the health system of Iran using Gini and Atkinson indices. In this cross-sectional study, data were gathered from the Statistics Center of Iran, Medical Council and statistics office of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Gini and Atkinson indices have been used to investigate the distribution of human resources. In order to find more accurate estimation of the distribution coefficients, the adjusted index was used. Stata 11 software was applied for data analysis. The range of Gini and Atkinson indices before adjusting needs during 2006-2011were respectively between 0.127-0.204; and 0.018-0.038 that shows a worse status after adjusting needs. Appropriate supply and distribution of medical manpower is the major key for improvement of the countries’ health status. Therefore, accurate estimation of required human resources and population-based distribution help to reduce the cost of health care systems as well as households’ cost.