Fantastic stewards and where to find them: a descriptive study of the heterogeneous disparity in physician-pharmacist-nurse distribution among the infectious disease workforce.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Infectious disease (ID) care involves a diverse range of professionals, yet the shortage and geographical disparity of ID physicians, among other professionals, remain underexplored. This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to elucidate the distribution of ID physicians, infection control (IC) pharmacists, and IC nurses in Japan, focusing on the interrelations among the ID workforce within medically relevant geographical units.

Methods

Publicly available data from 335 secondary medical areas (SMAs) in Japan, with a population of 125 million, were analyzed. Workforce distribution was assessed using the Gini index to quantify inequalities and spatial clustering across the SMAs per capita, per hospital bed, and per unit area. χ2 test was used to assess the associ

SUBMITTER: Uesugi Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12854878 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature