Doctors for the people? The problematic distribution of rural service doctors in Ecuador.

ABSTRACT: Primary health care is at the core of health systems that aim to ensure equitable health outcomes. With an estimated 36% of rural population, Ecuador has a service year programme (created in 1970) for recently graduated doctors to provide primary care services in rural and remote communities. However, little has been done to monitor or evaluate the programme since its inception. The aim of this study was to assess Ecuador's rural medical service implementation with a focus on equitable distribution of doctors across the country. For this purpose, we analysed the distribution of all doctors, including rural service doctors, in health-care facilities across rural and remote areas of Ecuador in the public sector at the canton level for 2015 and 2019, by level of care (primary, secondary and t

SUBMITTER: Romero-Alvarez D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10394494 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature