The impact of demographic characteristics on the distribution and development of health services in the city of Benghazi

Abstract

The research focused on studying the reality of health services in the city of Benghazi and the possibility of developing them, relying on geographic information systems to show the geographical distribution of service types according to population characteristics in terms of their density and distribution in the city's residential neighborhoods, through field surveying and mapping of health facilities.
Determining their importance in providing services, not to mention suggesting the most suitable locations for establishing new health facilities that serve the largest number of residents - The number of health service facilities in the city of Benghazi in 2013 reached about 414 health facilities. These numbers of different types of health facilities in the city of Benghazi are not suitable for the population size of the city and are very few.
And tonight, when you compare it to Tripoli, the Libyan capital, comparing the current state of health facilities in Benghazi in 2013 with those in Tripoli in 2005, the difference becomes clear, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitatively speaking, in absolute numbers, the total number of health facilities of all types in Tripoli exceeded 800.
This is nearly double what exists in Benghazi, and if we disregard the time gap, there is no doubt that Tripoli has had a number of additional health facilities added, making the difference between the two cities' share even greater. The field survey of health services in the city revealed a lack of fairness in distribution between residential neighborhoods, as well as poor distribution in terms of the type of health service.
On the other hand, there are, for example, some neighborhoods that lack all services except for one type. Although this one is abundant, suggesting in terms of quantity that the neighborhood does not need health services, we find at the same time that it is in dire need of another type of health service, for example
For example, the number of public hospitals and health centers reached 23, which is 0% of the total health services.
In the city, this percentage reveals a severe shortage of this service, which is essential for all residents of the neighborhoods due to its importance in providing high-quality, free medical and inpatient care. Considering the distribution of this service among the city's neighborhoods, the largest number of hospitals and public medical centers are concentrated in the Al-Hawari neighborhood.
Al-Fuwayhat and Sidi Younes neighborhoods, and thus the three neighborhoods receive more than half (52%) of the total of this service in the city, which shows the unfairness of the distribution and the deprivation of eighteen neighborhoods, representing 60% of the city’s neighborhoods, from this service that is in dire need of. This poor distribution has made 16.7% of the city’s neighborhoods control 70% of the total of this service.
This study also recorded that the highest percentage of health services and the most widespread among the city's neighborhoods were in pharmacies, which recorded a percentage of 22% of the total health services in the city, and this is attributed to it being a convenient business activity.
The study concluded that there is a qualitative and quantitative imbalance in the distribution of health services among the city's neighborhoods, and that there is no equitable distribution commensurate with population size and density. Keywords: Health services - Growth rate - Efficiency index - Curative and inpatient services