Al-Sheddi Ahmed, Kamel Shady, Almeshal Abdulaziz S, Assiri Abdullah M
Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), Ministry of Health, Riyadh, SAU.
Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, SAU.
Cureus. 2023 Jul 15;15(7):e41932. doi: 10.7759/cureus.41932. eCollection 2023 Jul.
Access to adequate healthcare systems is seen as a fundamental human right. Therefore, healthcare services must be distributed and accessible in the most efficient way possible to those who need them the most. Primary healthcare centers are the backbone of any healthcare system as they provide essential healthcare services to the general population. Inequalities in the distribution of primary healthcare centers can lead to disparities in healthcare access and outcomes. This study aimed to assess the equity of primary healthcare centers distribution, we analyzed and evaluated the allocation of primary healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia from 2017 to 2021.
This cross-sectional study utilized data from the Health Statistical Yearbook published by the Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia, during the period of 2017-2021. The number of primary healthcare centers per 10,000 population was calculated for the 20 health regions. We used the Gini index to measure inequality in the distribution of primary healthcare centers. The Pearson coefficient was calculated to assess the correlation between the number of primary healthcare centers and the population in each health region.
The overall ratio of primary healthcare centers to population decreased from 0.72 to 0.62 between 2017 and 2021. The Gini index showed relative equality in the distribution of primary healthcare centers from 2017 to 2021 with values between 0.2 and 0.3. There was a positive correlation between the population and the primary healthcare centers in Jeddah, Tabouk, and the Northern Region. However, in Riyadh, Makkah, Taif, Madinah, Qaseem, Eastern Region, Al-Ahsa, Aseer, Hail, Jazan, Najran, Al-Baha, and Al-Jouf, the correlation was found to be negative.
From 2017 to 2021, primary healthcare facilities are distributed fairly throughout 20 health regions of Saudi Arabia. However, there are still some disparities between provinces, and efforts must be made to ensure that primary healthcare centers are distributed equitably across the country to improve healthcare access and outcomes for all.
获得充足的医疗保健系统被视为一项基本人权。因此，医疗保健服务必须以最有效的方式分配并提供给最需要的人群。初级医疗保健中心是任何医疗保健系统的支柱，因为它们为普通民众提供基本医疗保健服务。初级医疗保健中心分布不均会导致医疗保健获取和结果的差异。本研究旨在评估初级医疗保健中心分布的公平性，我们分析并评估了2017年至2021年沙特阿拉伯初级医疗保健中心的分配情况。
这项横断面研究利用了沙特阿拉伯卫生部在2017 - 2021年期间发布的《健康统计年鉴》中的数据。计算了20个健康区域每10000人口的初级医疗保健中心数量。我们使用基尼系数来衡量初级医疗保健中心分布的不平等程度。计算皮尔逊系数以评估每个健康区域初级医疗保健中心数量与人口之间的相关性。
2017年至2021年期间，初级医疗保健中心与人口的总体比例从0.72降至0.62。基尼系数显示2017年至2021年初级医疗保健中心分布相对平等，值在0.2至0.3之间。吉达、塔布克和北部地区的人口与初级医疗保健中心之间存在正相关。然而，在利雅得、麦加、塔伊夫、麦地那、卡西姆、东部地区、艾哈萨、阿西尔、海勒、吉赞、奈季兰、巴哈和焦夫，发现相关性为负。
2017年至2021年期间，初级医疗保健设施在沙特阿拉伯的20个健康区域分布较为公平。然而，各省之间仍存在一些差异，必须努力确保初级医疗保健中心在全国公平分布，以改善所有人的医疗保健获取和结果。
