IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i5p2043-d329427.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Inequality in the Distribution of Healthcare Human Resources in Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Justyna Rój

    (Department of Operational Research, The Poznań University of Economics and Business, Al. Niepodległości 10, 61-875 Poznań, Poland)

Abstract

Human resources are the major input in health systems. Therefore, their equitable distribution remains critical in making progress towards the goal of sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to evaluate equity in the distribution of healthcare human resources across regions of Poland from 2010 to 2017. This research by applying specifically to Polish conditions will allow the existing gap in the literature to be closed. Data were derived from the Database of Statistics Poland, and the Lorenz Curve/Gini coefficient was engaged as well as the Theil index to measure the extent and drivers of inequality in the distribution of healthcare human resources in macro-regions. Population size along with crude death rates are employed as proxies for healthcare need/demand. This research has several major findings. Mainly, it was found, that the geographical distribution of all types of human resources is less equitable than is the case with population distribution. Relatively lower equity in the access to oncologists, family doctors, and cardiologists was found. There are some noticeable differences between macro-regions in the equity level of healthcare human resources distribution. This research provides various implications for policy and practice and will allow for improved planning and more efficient use of these resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Justyna Rój, 2020. "Inequality in the Distribution of Healthcare Human Resources in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-27, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:5:p:2043-:d:329427
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/5/2043/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/5/2043/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wagstaff, Adam & Paci, Pierella & van Doorslaer, Eddy, 1991. "On the measurement of inequalities in health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 545-557, January.
    2. Sagan, Anna & Sobczak, Alicja, 2014. "Implementation of the 2011 Therapeutic Activity Act: Will commercialization improve the financial performance of Polish hospitals?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(2), pages 153-158.
    3. Anonymous, 1948. "World Health Organization," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 374-377, June.
    4. Brommels, Mats & Jaaskelainen, Manu, 1984. "Measures of equity and efficiency in medical manpower planning. A prediction of internists needed in the Finnish national health service," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 3-11.
    5. Jaaskelainen, Manu & Brommels, Mats, 1985. "The demand for physicians in Finland : Results from a speciality-based assessment of future development and need for service," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 331-338.
    6. Matsumoto, Masatoshi & Inoue, Kazuo & Bowman, Robert & Kajii, Eiji, 2010. "Self-employment, specialty choice, and geographical distribution of physicians in Japan: A comparison with the United States," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 239-244, August.
    7. Anonymous, 1948. "World Health Organization," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(1), pages 138-140, February.
    8. Kroezen, Marieke & Dussault, Gilles & Craveiro, Isabel & Dieleman, Marjolein & Jansen, Christel & Buchan, James & Barriball, Louise & Rafferty, Anne Marie & Bremner, Jeni & Sermeus, Walter, 2015. "Recruitment and retention of health professionals across Europe: A literature review and multiple case study research," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(12), pages 1517-1528.
    9. Busch, Lawrence & Dale, Christopher, 1978. "The changing distribution of physicians," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 167-176.
    10. Druckman, A. & Jackson, T., 2008. "Measuring resource inequalities: The concepts and methodology for an area-based Gini coefficient," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 242-252, April.
    11. Jingxian Wu & Yongmei Yang, 2019. "Inequality trends in the demographic and geographic distribution of health care professionals in China: Data from 2002 to 2016," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(1), pages 487-508, January.
    12. Corrado Gini, 2005. "On the measurement of concentration and variability of characters," Metron - International Journal of Statistics, Dipartimento di Statistica, Probabilità e Statistiche Applicate - University of Rome, vol. 0(1), pages 1-38.
    13. Domagała, Alicja & Klich, Jacek, 2018. "Planning of Polish physician workforce – Systemic inconsistencies, challenges and possible ways forward," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 102-108.
    14. Tomoko Ono & Gaétan Lafortune & Michael Schoenstein, 2013. "Health Workforce Planning in OECD Countries: A Review of 26 Projection Models from 18 Countries," OECD Health Working Papers 62, OECD Publishing.
    15. Sekar Ayu Paramita & Chiho Yamazaki & Elsa Pudji Setiawati & Hiroshi Koyama, 2018. "Distribution trends of Indonesia's health care resources in the decentralization era," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 586-596, April.
    16. Isabel Correia & Paula Veiga, 2010. "Geographic distribution of physicians in Portugal," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 11(4), pages 383-393, August.
    17. Agnieszka Bem & Rafał Siedlecki & Paweł Prędkiewicz & Patrizia Gazzola & Bożena Ryszawska & Paulina Ucieklak-Jeż, 2019. "Hospitals’ Financial Health in Rural and Urban Areas in Poland: Does It Ensure Sustainability?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, April.
    18. Brown, Malcolm C., 1994. "Using gini-style indices to evaluate the spatial patterns of health practitioners: Theoretical considerations and an application based on Alberta data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 1243-1256, May.
    19. Anonymous, 1948. "World Health Organization," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(3), pages 540-542, September.
    20. Angelica Sousa & Mario R Dal Poz & Cristiana Leite Carvalho, 2012. "Monitoring Inequalities in the Health Workforce: The Case Study of Brazil 1991–2005," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(3), pages 1-7, March.
    21. Mauro ROMANELLI, 2017. "Towards Sustainable Health Care Organizations," Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, College of Management, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, vol. 5(3), pages 377-394, September.
    22. Marcella Alsan & David E. Bloom & David Canning, 2004. "The Effect of Population Health on Foreign Direct Investment," NBER Working Papers 10596, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Odelia Koh & Jeannette Lee & Maudrene L S Tan & E-Shyong Tai & Ce Jin Foo & Kok Joon Chong & Su-Yen Goh & Yong Mong Bee & Julian Thumboo & Yin-Bun Cheung & Avjeet Singh & Hwee-Lin Wee, 2014. "Establishing the Thematic Framework for a Diabetes-Specific Health-Related Quality of Life Item Bank for Use in an English-Speaking Asian Population," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(12), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Fielden, Sarah J. & Rusch, Melanie L. & Masinda, Mambo Tabu & Sands, Jim & Frankish, Jim & Evoy, Brian, 2007. "Key considerations for logic model development in research partnerships: A Canadian case study," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 115-124, May.
    3. Olga Pakholok, 2013. "The Idea of Healthy Lifestyle and Its Transformation Into Health-Oriented Lifestyle in Contemporary Society," SAGE Open, , vol. 3(3), pages 21582440135, August.
    4. Viola, Lora Anne, 2008. "WHO says competition is healthy: How civil society can change IGOs [Die WHO sagt: Wettbewerb ist gesund. Wie Zivilgesellschaft IGOs verändern kann]," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Global Governance SP IV 2008-307, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    5. Barrington, D.J. & Sridharan, S. & Shields, K.F. & Saunders, S.G. & Souter, R.T. & Bartram, J., 2017. "Sanitation marketing: A systematic review and theoretical critique using the capability approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 128-134.
    6. Letizia Appolloni & Alberto Giretti & Maria Vittoria Corazza & Daniela D’Alessandro, 2020. "Walkable Urban Environments: An Ergonomic Approach of Evaluation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-31, October.
    7. João M. S. Carvalho & Célio A. A. Sousa, 2018. "Is Psychological Value a Missing Building Block in Societal Sustainability?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-14, December.
    8. Modranka Emilia & Suchecka Jadwiga, 2014. "The Determinants Of Population Health Spatial Disparities," Comparative Economic Research, Sciendo, vol. 17(4), pages 173-185, December.
    9. Völker, Sebastian & Kistemann, Thomas, 2013. "Reprint of: “I'm always entirely happy when I'm here!” Urban blue enhancing human health and well-being in Cologne and Düsseldorf, Germany," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 141-152.
    10. Heather J. Sutherland & Hilary Llewellyn-Thomas & Norman F. Boyd & James E. Till, 1982. "Attitudes Toward Quality of Survival," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 2(3), pages 299-309, August.
    11. Pilar Sanjuán & María Ávila, 2019. "The Mediating Role of Coping Strategies on the Relationships Between Goal Motives and Affective and Cognitive Components of Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1057-1070, April.
    12. Jozef Bavoľár & Oľga Orosová, 2015. "Decision-making styles and their associations with decision-making competencies and mental health," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 10(1), pages 115-122, January.
    13. Sara Miftari Sadiki, 2021. "Relationship between Psychological Factors and Quality of Life in Patients with Heart Disease and Those with Diabetes," European Journal of Social Sciences Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 2, EJSS Janu.
    14. Amaresh Panda & Sanjay Mohapatra, 2021. "Online Healthcare Practices and Associated Stakeholders: Review of Literature for Future Research Agenda," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 46(2), pages 71-85, June.
    15. Marco Fuscaldo, 2012. "Physical limitations, depressive symptoms and cognitive problems: exploring the complex structure of un-health among older people in Italy," Center for the Analysis of Public Policies (CAPP) 0098, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".
    16. Tim Lomas & Kate Hefferon & Itai Ivtzan, 2015. "The LIFE Model: A Meta-Theoretical Conceptual Map for Applied Positive Psychology," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 1347-1364, October.
    17. Jeanne Landgraf, 2001. "Measuring and monitoring quality of life in children and youth: A brief commentary," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 46(5), pages 281-282, September.
    18. Immergut, Ellen M. & Schneider, Simone M., 2020. "Is it unfair for the affluent to be able to purchase “better” healthcare? Existential standards and institutional norms in healthcare attitudes across 28 countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    19. Rock, Melanie J. & Degeling, Chris, 2015. "Public health ethics and more-than-human solidarity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 61-67.
    20. Fan‐Ko Sun & Chun‐Ying Chiang & Chu‐Yun Lu & Pei‐Jane Yu & Tzu‐Chiao Liao & Chu‐Mei Lan, 2018. "Development and psychometric testing the Health of Body, Mind and Spirit Scale for assessing individuals who have drug abuse histories," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5-6), pages 1038-1048, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    health care; human resources; inequality; Gini coefficient; Theil index; JEL classification: I11; I14; I15;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:5:p:2043-:d:329427. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.