Document Type : Research Article
Authors
1
Iranian Organization for Engineering Order of Building, Mashhad, Iran
2
Mashhad Medical Council, Mashhad, Iran
3
Chairman of the Board of Physiotherapy Association – Branch of Khorasan Provinces, Mashhad, Iran
4
Addiction Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
Background: Prompt and easy access is an essential component of a fair health care delivery. This study was designed to investigate the frequency and density of private rehabilitation clinics in 13 urban districts of Mashhad city.
Methods: In this study, the absolute and relative distributions of private rehab clinics in the city of Mashhad (up to the end of 2014) were extracted from Mashhad Medical Council database. The data related to geographical districts and demographic features were obtained from reports issued by the Municipality of Mashhad.
Results: By the end of 2014, a total of 309 private rehab clinic/center/offices were active in 13 districts of Mashhad, which with respect to 2,766,258 population size of Mashhad is equal to 1.1 clinic per 10,000 people. The frequency of these clinics in regard to the type of service provided is as follow: 133 optometry (43%), 69 physiotherapy (22%), 31 nutrition (10%), 29 audiometry/audiology (9%), 24 speech therapy (8%) 18 occupational therapy (6%) and 5 technical orthopedic (2%) clinics. Considering the zoning of the city of Mashhad, the largest number of rehab clinics was in district 1 (39.8%) followed by district 11 (14.6%). Based on the results, in district 12, no rehab clinic was active. The number of rehab clinics to 10,000 people in districts 1, 8 and 11 was the highest and in districts 5, 6 and 12 was the lowest. The number of rehab clinics to 10,000 people in district one (7.2), eight (3.2) and elven (2.3) were 6.5, 2.9 and 1.2 times higher than the average of all districts in Mashhad (1.1), respectively.
Conclusion: Of factors effective to have a modern, clean and healthy city, is balanced and equitable distribution of entertainment, health and municipal services and facilities in most parts of a city. It is necessary to provide a comprehensive health map of the city with the collaboration of universities, health policy makers and medical associations.
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