Volume 21, Issue 81 (8-2021)
refahj 2021, 21(81): 167-194 |
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Ahmadi hajiabadi R. (2021). Assessing the Gap Trend of Health Development Index between the Cities of Semnan Province and Iran During the Period of 1393-1396. refahj. 21(81), 167-194.
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URL: http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-3609-en.html
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Introduction: One of the main pillars of development is social development. The purpose of social development is to provide material, economic, and social facilities for all members of society, to increase the access of population to vital resources. Healthcare is one of the basic and vital needs in human societies. Recognizing and examining the trend of changes in health care indicators is important because improving these indicators by increasing the health of human resources has a significant impact on economic growth and development.
In addition to providing health and medical needs, a balanced distribution of these services to all people is essential. By using different models and based on the population weight of each region, it is possible to distribute them in a balanced and optimal way. Achieving sustainable development depends on the high level of inequality available in the field of access to health care facilities and services. Poor health in society will lead to economic poverty because in this case, the ability to work and, consequently, the income of the people will be reduced, or the part of the family will be spent on providing medical expenses.
Inequality in development indicators, including health indicators, between different regions, which are often found in developing countries, not only challenges sustainable development but is also used as an excuse to show the inefficiency of current managers.
The review of various research studies in this field indicates that these studies have been conducted at the provincial or national level. What the researchers have done in these studies is a combination of the two. That is, at the same time, the health indicators of different urban areas of Semnan province have been compared with each other and with the whole of Iran. The aim of this study is to measure the health characteristics of the cities of Semnan province, namely Semnan, Damghan, Shahroud and Garmsar, simultaneously with the whole country and to examine the position of each in relation to each other. Based on this, the position of each city can be measured and evaluated simultaneously in relation to the other desired area. In order to be able to examine the situation of these areas more accurately, these calculations were performed in the period of 1393-1396, in which there is no information limit.
Method: Based on various studies conducted in this field and according to the access to statistical information, the following variables have been used to measure the health index:
1) Number of health care centers, 2) Number of active hospital beds, 3) Number of pharmacies, 4) Number of medical diagnostic laboratories, 5) Number of rehabilitation centers, 6) Number of nuclear diagnostic treatment institutions, 7) Number of dentists, 8) Number of pharmacists, 9) Number of specialist doctors, 10) Number of nurses, 11) Number of PhDs in laboratory sciences, 12) Number of general practitioners, 13) Number of midwives, 14) Number of health worker, 15) Number of nurse assistant, 16) Number of operating room technicians, 17) Number of anesthesia technicians.
In this research, to analyze the information, in the first stage, Shannon’s Entropy Method is used to calculate the weight of each of the indicators, and in the next stage, numerical taxonomy technique is used to level the studied areas.
To rank different options based on a certain numerical index, it is sufficient to classify the options based on the ascending or descending path of the desired index. If there are several indicators for this rank, the problem is solved using different methods, one of which is numerical taxonomy. Taxonomy is one of the most common methods of grading different areas in terms of development. This method takes the form of several steps.
Findings: According to Shannon’s Entropy Method, the weight or in other words the importance of each indicator was measured at different ages. According to the calculated values, first of all, two criteria, the number of doctoral students in laboratory sciences and the number of anesthesia technicians, have the highest weight; second, the importance of the number of midwives and the number of nuclear diagnostic treatment institutes has increased over the course of the study. However, the weight of the indicators of the number of PhDs in laboratory sciences, the number of nurses and the number of specialist physicians during this period has been declining.
After calculating the weight of the various indicators, the taxonomic method was used. The ranking status based on the Fi values calculated for each region for different years indicates that Shahroud has always had a higher level of development over the last five years than other cities in Semnan and Iran. The average rankings during this period indicate that the cities of Semnan, Damghan, and Garmsar were ranked next. Iran’s low index compared to the cities of Semnan province indicates that all the cities of this province have a more favorable situation than the whole of Iran in terms of health care index.
Discussion: The trend of the health index of the target areas during the period of 1393-1396 shows that the level of the health index of the cities of Semnan province has had a downward trend; although this indicator is improving for the cities of Semnan and Shahroud, we still see a downward trend in the cities of Damghan and Garmsar, which is a warning sign for increasing the gap in the coming years. Another fact that can be deduced from the results is the convergence of the studied areas from the point of view of health care. While in 1393 and 1394 the gap between the cities of Semnan province and the whole country was very large, but during the two years 1395 and 1396, this gap has decreased; although this convergence seems desirable at first glance, but the main reason for this convergence is the decline in the quality of health care in the cities of Semnan province, it should be said that at least it is not desirable for Semnan province. Therefore, in general, it can be expected that in the coming years, firstly, the gap between the health indicators of the four urban areas of Semnan province will increase and secondly, the level of the healthcare index of the whole province will be lower than the whole of Iran. These two points further draw the attention of provincial officials to the fair distribution of health care services and facilities among the cities of the province, along with the increase in these facilities.
Ethical Considerations:
This research has been done without any financial and non-financial assistance of other institutions. This paper does not overlap with other published works by the author. In this article, all rights relating to references are cited and resources are carefully listed.
Introduction: One of the main pillars of development is social development. The purpose of social development is to provide material, economic, and social facilities for all members of society, to increase the access of population to vital resources. Healthcare is one of the basic and vital needs in human societies. Recognizing and examining the trend of changes in health care indicators is important because improving these indicators by increasing the health of human resources has a significant impact on economic growth and development.
In addition to providing health and medical needs, a balanced distribution of these services to all people is essential. By using different models and based on the population weight of each region, it is possible to distribute them in a balanced and optimal way. Achieving sustainable development depends on the high level of inequality available in the field of access to health care facilities and services. Poor health in society will lead to economic poverty because in this case, the ability to work and, consequently, the income of the people will be reduced, or the part of the family will be spent on providing medical expenses.
Inequality in development indicators, including health indicators, between different regions, which are often found in developing countries, not only challenges sustainable development but is also used as an excuse to show the inefficiency of current managers.
The review of various research studies in this field indicates that these studies have been conducted at the provincial or national level. What the researchers have done in these studies is a combination of the two. That is, at the same time, the health indicators of different urban areas of Semnan province have been compared with each other and with the whole of Iran. The aim of this study is to measure the health characteristics of the cities of Semnan province, namely Semnan, Damghan, Shahroud and Garmsar, simultaneously with the whole country and to examine the position of each in relation to each other. Based on this, the position of each city can be measured and evaluated simultaneously in relation to the other desired area. In order to be able to examine the situation of these areas more accurately, these calculations were performed in the period of 1393-1396, in which there is no information limit.
Method: Based on various studies conducted in this field and according to the access to statistical information, the following variables have been used to measure the health index:
1) Number of health care centers, 2) Number of active hospital beds, 3) Number of pharmacies, 4) Number of medical diagnostic laboratories, 5) Number of rehabilitation centers, 6) Number of nuclear diagnostic treatment institutions, 7) Number of dentists, 8) Number of pharmacists, 9) Number of specialist doctors, 10) Number of nurses, 11) Number of PhDs in laboratory sciences, 12) Number of general practitioners, 13) Number of midwives, 14) Number of health worker, 15) Number of nurse assistant, 16) Number of operating room technicians, 17) Number of anesthesia technicians.
In this research, to analyze the information, in the first stage, Shannon’s Entropy Method is used to calculate the weight of each of the indicators, and in the next stage, numerical taxonomy technique is used to level the studied areas.
To rank different options based on a certain numerical index, it is sufficient to classify the options based on the ascending or descending path of the desired index. If there are several indicators for this rank, the problem is solved using different methods, one of which is numerical taxonomy. Taxonomy is one of the most common methods of grading different areas in terms of development. This method takes the form of several steps.
Findings: According to Shannon’s Entropy Method, the weight or in other words the importance of each indicator was measured at different ages. According to the calculated values, first of all, two criteria, the number of doctoral students in laboratory sciences and the number of anesthesia technicians, have the highest weight; second, the importance of the number of midwives and the number of nuclear diagnostic treatment institutes has increased over the course of the study. However, the weight of the indicators of the number of PhDs in laboratory sciences, the number of nurses and the number of specialist physicians during this period has been declining.
After calculating the weight of the various indicators, the taxonomic method was used. The ranking status based on the Fi values calculated for each region for different years indicates that Shahroud has always had a higher level of development over the last five years than other cities in Semnan and Iran. The average rankings during this period indicate that the cities of Semnan, Damghan, and Garmsar were ranked next. Iran’s low index compared to the cities of Semnan province indicates that all the cities of this province have a more favorable situation than the whole of Iran in terms of health care index.
Discussion: The trend of the health index of the target areas during the period of 1393-1396 shows that the level of the health index of the cities of Semnan province has had a downward trend; although this indicator is improving for the cities of Semnan and Shahroud, we still see a downward trend in the cities of Damghan and Garmsar, which is a warning sign for increasing the gap in the coming years. Another fact that can be deduced from the results is the convergence of the studied areas from the point of view of health care. While in 1393 and 1394 the gap between the cities of Semnan province and the whole country was very large, but during the two years 1395 and 1396, this gap has decreased; although this convergence seems desirable at first glance, but the main reason for this convergence is the decline in the quality of health care in the cities of Semnan province, it should be said that at least it is not desirable for Semnan province. Therefore, in general, it can be expected that in the coming years, firstly, the gap between the health indicators of the four urban areas of Semnan province will increase and secondly, the level of the healthcare index of the whole province will be lower than the whole of Iran. These two points further draw the attention of provincial officials to the fair distribution of health care services and facilities among the cities of the province, along with the increase in these facilities.
Ethical Considerations:
This research has been done without any financial and non-financial assistance of other institutions. This paper does not overlap with other published works by the author. In this article, all rights relating to references are cited and resources are carefully listed.
Type of Study: orginal |
Received: 2020/03/20 | Accepted: 2021/03/2 | Published: 2021/09/14
Received: 2020/03/20 | Accepted: 2021/03/2 | Published: 2021/09/14
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