Wei-Ting Chang1, Hsin-I Leu2, Huang-Pin Chen3, Ming-Hwai Lin4, Tzeng-Ji Chen5, Shinn-Jang Hwang5, Li-Fang Chou6, Peng-Hui Wang7. 1. Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital Yuli Branch, No.91, Xinxing St., Yuli Township, Hualien County, 98142, Taiwan. 2. Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. 3. Emergency Department, Yuli Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan. 4. Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: mhlin@vghtpe.gov.tw. 5. Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. 6. Department of Public Finance, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan. 7. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Obstetrician-gynecologists are the main providers of women's healthcare. However, workforce shortages and excessive workloads among these providers have been encountered in many countries. While most past studies on this subject have investigated the spatial distribution of obstetrics-gynecology clinics, few have focused on their temporal availability, especially on the national level. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The weekly opening time schedules (divided into morning, afternoon, and evening sessions) of all obstetrics-gynecology clinics in Taiwan were extracted from the web site of Taiwan's National Health Insurance Administration in July 2015. The numbers of open sessions were then analyzed and stratified by urbanization level and practice type. RESULTS: Among 742 obstetrics-gynecology clinics in Taiwan, 521 were located in urban areas, 194 in suburban areas, and 27 in rural areas. The numbers of open sessions per week in suburban areas were higher than those in urban and rural areas (16.7 ± 2.6 vs. 15.9 ± 3.1 and 15.9 ± 2.7). Group practices had more open sessions per week than solo practices (16.8 ± 2.8 vs. 15.8 ± 3.0). With respect to after-hours services in rural areas, only two rural obstetrics-gynecology clinics remained open on Sunday mornings, while none remained open on Sunday afternoons and evenings. CONCLUSION: Obstetrics-gynecology clinics in Taiwan offered great temporal availability. In addition to the remarkable urban-rural disparity in the distribution of obstetrics-gynecology clinics, the availability of services on Sundays in rural areas demands special attention.
OBJECTIVE: Obstetrician-gynecologists are the main providers of women's healthcare. However, workforce shortages and excessive workloads among these providers have been encountered in many countries. While most past studies on this subject have investigated the spatial distribution of obstetrics-gynecology clinics, few have focused on their temporal availability, especially on the national level. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The weekly opening time schedules (divided into morning, afternoon, and evening sessions) of all obstetrics-gynecology clinics in Taiwan were extracted from the web site of Taiwan's National Health Insurance Administration in July 2015. The numbers of open sessions were then analyzed and stratified by urbanization level and practice type. RESULTS: Among 742 obstetrics-gynecology clinics in Taiwan, 521 were located in urban areas, 194 in suburban areas, and 27 in rural areas. The numbers of open sessions per week in suburban areas were higher than those in urban and rural areas (16.7 ± 2.6 vs. 15.9 ± 3.1 and 15.9 ± 2.7). Group practices had more open sessions per week than solo practices (16.8 ± 2.8 vs. 15.8 ± 3.0). With respect to after-hours services in rural areas, only two rural obstetrics-gynecology clinics remained open on Sunday mornings, while none remained open on Sunday afternoons and evenings. CONCLUSION: Obstetrics-gynecology clinics in Taiwan offered great temporal availability. In addition to the remarkable urban-rural disparity in the distribution of obstetrics-gynecology clinics, the availability of services on Sundays in rural areas demands special attention.
Authors: Feng-Yuan Chu; Ying-Xiu Dai; Jui-Yao Liu; Tzeng-Ji Chen; Li-Fang Chou; Shinn-Jang Hwang Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2018-06-01 Impact factor: 3.390