Distribution Disparity of Doctors at Community Health Center and Its Potential Influence on Health Status Roosmayasari1, Harimat Hendarwan2, Adang Bachtiar3 1)Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Indonesia 2)National Institute of Health Research and Development, Jakarta 3)Department of Health Policy Administration, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Indonesia ABSTRACT Background: Geographic maldistribution of health care service providers and is one of the most persistent characteristics of the health care system in many countries worldwide. However, the global evidence on the supply, composition, and deployment of the health professionals is lacking. This study aimed to describe the disparity in the distribution of doctors at a community health center and its potential influence on health status. Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at community health centers in 6 Eastern provinces and 6 Western provinces of Indonesia. The condition of doctor was compared to health status and fiscal capacity of 12 provinces. The data were obtained from the Indonesian Basic Health Research (Riskesdas). Results: The doctors at a community health center ratio increased from 1.99 in 2011 to 2.08 in 2017. However, percent of community health center without doctor increased from 4.2% to 7.7%. The ratio of doctors at a community health center in the Eastern provinces of Indonesia was the lowest. Compared to the condition in 2011, doctor ratio at a community health center in the Eastern provinces (East Nusa Tenggara, South East Sulawesi, Papua, West Papua, and Maluku) decreased. The doctor ratio in the Western provinces of Indonesia (DKI Jakarta, Riau Islands, Bali, Yogyakarta, and Riau) increased. Conclusion: The disparity in the distribution of doctors at the community health centers between Eastern and Western provinces of Indonesia is widening. This condition must be handled properly as it can worsen health status in the Eastern region of Indonesia and raise inequity issues. Keywords: doctors, community health center, disparity, distribution, equity Correspondence: Roosmayasari. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Indonesia, Depok. Email: rumahkucintaku@gmail.com. Mobile: 085280558489. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26911/theicph.2019.04.37 ￩ ￫ x × Share this : View PDF
