The availability of dentists in the healthcare network of Florianópolis, SC: examining the Inverse Care Law

Abstract

Aim: This study analyzed the Inverse Care Law in the distribution of dentists and their workload across the Family Health Strategy (FHS) territories of Florianópolis, southern Brazil. Materials and methods: This is an ecological study, which analyzed the population coverage by dental professionals and the population's oral health needs across the territories of the 49 healthcare centers in the municipality. While dentist-related information was obtained from the Municipal Health Department and the National Registry of Health Establishments, the population's oral health needs were indirectly estimated by the level of socioeconomic deprivation pertaining to each FHS territory. The relationship between studied variables was examined with synoptic maps and the Spearman's correlation coefficient, taking as statistically significant those results with p-values smaller than 5%. Results: Neither the distribution of dentists across the FHS territories nor their workload had a statistically significant relationship with socioeconomic deprivation, measured at the level of FHS territories; coverage of dental care was not related to the health needs of the population. Discussion: Such findings may be attributed to the greater political/symbolic power of wealthy segments of the population, as well as the preference of professionals to be placed in less deprived territories. Conclusion: Health care planners and other professionals must pay attention to the principle of equity, as outlined by the Brazilian Unified Health System, since it may not be informing the organization of healthcare networks.