Assessing the Status and Ranking of Counties in Ardabil Province in Terms of Access to Services and Infrastructure of Health and Treatment

 Balanced and fair availability of human resources, equipment, and services is a necessary condition in the health and treatment sector in different geographical areas to increase the level of human health, which will lead to the creation of a healthy society. On the other hand, the insufficient and unequal distribution of health services and facilities imposes high financial costs on societies, the continuation of which will cause backwardness and decrease the growth rate of the societies. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate the status and ranking of Ardabil province's cities regarding access to healthcare services and infrastructure.

This descriptive-analytical study is designed with practical purpose. The present study is descriptive-analytical in nature and applied in purpose. The required data from the statistical yearbook of 2016 was extracted. Ten questionnaires were completed by experts working in the medical centers of the province for determining the priority using the bullets and the snow sampling method. In this study, the entropy model, Kopras model, and cluster analysis method were used to weigh the indicators, rank, and level of the cities respectively using SPSS. In addition, ArcGIS software has been used to show the status of the cities.

The final results of the Kopras model indicate that the highest levels of access to healthcare services and infrastructure among the cities of Ardabil province are respectively Ardabil, Meshgin Shahr, Khalkhal, Moghan, Nemin, Pars Abad, Beile Sawar, Nair, Kausar and Sareen. And the cities of Ardabil province are located in the cluster of three developing clusters, relatively deprived of development and deprived of development.

Ardabil province is lower than the national average in terms of access to healthcare services and infrastructure, or in a relatively deprived state in terms of development. The difference in the level of enjoyment of the cities of the province also shows the lack of justice in the distribution of health and treatment indicators.