Stocks and distribution of doctors, nurses, and midwives in the Philippines 2020: A descriptive ecologic study

Abstract

Background: Healthcare workers remain the key players in the delivery of healthcare services. Their supply and distribution must be carefully monitored and taken care of.

Objectives: To describe the stock of doctors, nurses, and midwives in the Philippines in 2020.

Methodology: This study employed a descriptive ecologic design and involved a secondary-data analysis where the relevant statistical data were retrieved from the public database in the country's Department of Health. The data source also provides the statistics of other health professions such as medical technologists, nutritionists/dieticians, pharmacists, and dentists. However, this study limited the numerical data of the doctors, nurses, and midwives because there are readily available data for comparison. Descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages, and population density were used to analyze the data.

Results: The available density of health workers (14.76 per 10,000 population) composed of doctors, nurses, and midwives in the country remains at par with the recommendation of the World Health Organization (44.5 per 10,000 population). Likewise, data showed that maldistribution of the health workforce still exists, where a greater number of them are found in urban areas such as the National Capital Region (NCR) and CALABARZON. A majority of them are also working in the hospitals (doctors = 86.64%, nurses = 76.75%, and midwives = 48.46%) than in the primary healthcare facilities (doctors = 13.36%, nurses = 23.25%, and midwives = 51.54%).

Conclusions: The study revealed that maldistribution and shortage of doctors, nurses, and midwives prevail in the country. Likewise, the available workers in the country remain at par with the recommendations to meet the targets of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The health agency and policymakers must focus on strategies to accelerate the number of health workers required in the country and redistribute them according to the areas in dire need.