Pure and Social Disparities in Distribution of Dentists: A Cross-Sectional Province-Based Study in Iran

Aliasghar A. Kiadaliri, Reza Hosseinpour, Hassan Haghparast-Bidgoli and Ulf-G. Gerdtham
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Aliasghar A. Kiadaliri: Division of Health Economics, Department of Clinical Sciences-Malmö, Lund University, Malmö 20502, Sweden
Reza Hosseinpour: Health Insurance Office, Ministry of Cooperatives-Labor and Social Welfare, Tehran 1457994861, Iran
Hassan Haghparast-Bidgoli: Institute for Global Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK

IJERPH, 2013, vol. 10, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: During past decades, the number of dentists has continuously increased in Iran. Beside the quantity, the distribution of dentists affects the oral health status of population. The current study aimed to assess the pure and social disparities in distribution of dentists across the provinces in Iran in 2009. Data on provinces’ characteristics, including population and social situation, were obtained from multiple sources. The disparity measures (including Gini coefficient, index of dissimilarity, Gaswirth index of disparity and relative index of inequality (RII)) and pairwise correlations were used to evaluate the pure and social disparities in the number of dentists in Iran. On average, there were 28 dentists per 100,000 population in the country. There were substantial pure disparities in the distribution of dentists across the provinces in Iran. The unadjusted and adjusted RII values were 3.82 and 2.13, respectively; indicating area social disparity in favor of people in better-off provinces. There were strong positive correlations between density of dentists and better social rank. It is suggested that the results of this study should be considered in conducting plans for redistribution of dentists in the country. In addition, further analyses are needed to explain these disparities.

Keywords: dentists; disparity; Gaswirth index of disparity; relative index of inequality; ecological; Iran (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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