Aging of hospital physicians in rural Japan: A longitudinal study based on national census data.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The disparity in the number of urban and rural physicians is a social problem in Japan. There may also be a disparity in the age of physicians. This study longitudinally examines both geographic and age distributions of physicians.

Methods

Individual data from the Survey of Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists in 1994, 2004 and 2014 and municipality data from the National Population Census were used. The 2015 municipality border was applied to all years, and all municipalities were classified into equal-size quintiles based on population density. Both municipalities and physicians were longitudinally observed.

Results

Between 1994 and 2014, the number of physicians per 100,000 population increased by 31.8% in the most urban group of municipalities and 17.4%

SUBMITTER: Matsumoto M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5983464 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature