Effect of More Doctors (Mais Médicos) Program on geographic distribution of primary care physicians

This study assesses the effect of More Doctors Program (Programa Mais M édicos - PMM) on the equality in the distribution of primary care physicians (PCPs) in Brazil. Spatial data analysis, Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient were used to evaluate the geographic distribution of PCPs before and after the implementation of PMM (2012 and 2016). Data from 5,564 municipalitie s were used in the analyses. The results indicate that the distribution of PCPs has become more equal after PMM implementation. Between 2012 and 2016, overall Gini coefficient decreased by 11% from 0.255 to 0.227. At the state level, a statistically significant trend towards a more equal distributio n of PCPs was found in 21 out of 26 Brazilian states. However, there still remains a substantial difference in the level of equality in PCP distribution, especially across states, with Gini coefficient ranging from 0.093 to 0.341 in 2016.Resumo Este artigo avalia o efeito do Programa Mais M édicos (PMM) na distribuição de médicos na atenção básica no Brasil. As técnicas de análise de dados espaciais, curva de Lorenz e coeficiente de Gini foram empregadas para avaliar a distribuição geográfica dos médicos antes e após a implementação do PMM (2012 e 2016). Para tanto, for am utilizados dados secundários de 5.564 municípios. Os resultados indicaram que a distribuição de médicos se tornou mais igualitária após a implementação do PMM. Entre 2012 e 2016, o coeficiente geral de Gini diminuiu 11%, ...
Source: Ciencia e Saude Coletiva - Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research