Distribution of Brazilian dermatologists according to geographic location,population and HDI of municipalities: an ecological study

This study investigated the geographic distribution of dermatologists in Brazilianmunicipalities in relation to the population, regions of the country and humandevelopment index. We conducted an ecological study based on data from the 2010census, the 2010 human development index, and the records of the Brazilian Society ofDermatology. 5565 municipalities and 6718 dermatologists were surveyed. Only 504(9.1%) municipalities had dermatologists, and accounted for 56.2% of the Brazilianpopulation. The smallest population size and lowest HDI rate that best discriminatedmunicipalities that did not have dermatologists were found to be 28,000 and 0.71,respectively. The average population density of dermatologists in cities was 1/23.000inhabitants, and variations were independently associated with the HDI, thepopulation of the municipalities and the region of the country.