Relationship between regional population and healthcare delivery in Japan

• Published in: Journal of medical and dental sciences Vol. 63; no. 1; p. 9
• Main Authors: Niga, Takeo, Mori, Maiko, Kawahara, Kazuo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan 2016
• Subjects: Delivery of Health Care - statistics & numerical data; Delivery of Health Care - trends; Facility Regulation and Control; Health Facility Planning; Health Policy; Healthcare Disparities; Hospital Bed Capacity - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Japan; Physicians - statistics & numerical data; Physicians - supply & distribution; Population; Population Dynamics - statistics & numerical data; Population Dynamics - trends; Principal Component Analysis - methods; Public Policy; Socioeconomic Factors
• ISSN: 2185-9132
• DOI: 10.11480/jmds.630102

In order to address regional inequality in healthcare delivery in Japan, healthcare districts were established in 1985. However, regional healthcare delivery has now become a national issue because of population migration and the aging population. In this study, the state of healthcare delivery at the district level is examined by analyzing population, the number of physicians, and the number of hospital beds. The results indicate a continuing disparity in healthcare delivery among districts. We find that the rate of change in population has a strong positive correlation with that in the number of physicians and a weak positive correlation with that in the number of hospital beds. In addition, principal component analysis is performed on three variables: the rate of change in population, the number of physicians per capita, and the number of hospital beds per capita. This analysis suggests that the two principal components contribute 90.1% of the information. The first principal component is thought to show the effect of the regulations on hospital beds. The second principal component is thought to show the capacity to recruit physicians. This study indicates that an adjustment to the regulations on hospital beds as well as physician allocation by public funds may be key to resolving the impending issue of regionally disproportionate healthcare delivery.