Geographical distribution of gynecologists and midwives in Kermanshah province (2008-2013)

Background:   Women's health and prenatal care have always been important issues for health authorities and policy makers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the geographical distribution of gynecologists and midwives and to determine their distribution trend in Kermanshah province in the period 2008-2013.

Methods: Gini coefficient was used to analyze the distribution of human resources involving in women’s health and t-test was used to examine the assumption of equal distribution of the resources. Gini coefficient was calculated for gynecologists and midwives on the basis of number of live births per year and women population. Four regression models were fitted to determine the time trend of inequality.

Results: Gini coefficients for gynecologists and on the basis of the number of women for the study period were 0.489, 0.587, 0.677, 0.545, 0.474 and 0.46, respectively. The minimum and maximum Gini coefficient based on the number of live births were 0.457 and 0.566, respectively. The Gini coefficient for midwives on the basis of the number of women decreased from 0.249 in 2008 to 0.215 in 2013. Moreover, the minimum and maximum Gini coefficients based on the number of live births were 0.268 and 0.397, respectively. Inequality declined during the study period, but was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: the distribution of human resources associated with the women's health has improved in recent years, however, it is still far from ideal distribution of the resources. Therefore, the women are recommended to be provided with adequate healthcare services by performing the required planning.