Inequality in the distribution of ear, nose and throat specialists in 15 Latin American countries: an ecological study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To explore sociogeographical inequalities in the availability and distribution of ear, nose and throat specialists (ENTs) in 15 Latin American (LA) countries.

Design

Ecological.

Setting

Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries of LA.The number of registered ENTs in 2017 was obtained from the National ENT Society in each country.

Outcome measures

The ENT rate/million population was calculated at the national and subnational (eg, state) level. Three measures were calculated to assess subnational distributive inequality of ENTs: (1) absolute and (2) relative index of dissimilarity; and (3) concentration index (using the Human Development Index as the equity stratifier). Finally, the ratio of ENTs/million population in the capital area compared with the

SUBMITTER: Bright T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6661698 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature