Medical personnel in rural areas: trends in key indicators

Introduction. Provision of rural health care with medical personnel is one of the main problems and a priority area for the development of the health care system. In this regard, it is necessary to monitor key indicators to address the issues of planning and forecasting the availability of medical care.

The purpose of the study. To analyze the trend in key indicators of provision with doctors and specialists with secondary medical education in medical institutions located in rural areas of the Russian Federation.

Materials and methods. The statistical materials “Resources and activities of medical health care institutions. Medical personnel: statistical materials” on the provision of medical institutions with medical personnel in the country as a whole, federal districts and subjects of the Russian Federation for the period from 2018 to 2022. When calculating the indicators, we were guided by the methodological recommendations of the Ministry of Health of Russia. Analytical and statistical methods were used in the research process. Calculations were performed using Excel 2019 spreadsheets.

Results. In the Russian Federation as a whole during the period under study, the number of physicians in rural health care decreased by 9% and the number of middle medical personnel (MMP) by 10.1%. The analysis of the age structure in medical workers working in rural areas revealed an increase in the average age of both doctors and MMP.

Research limitations. The research materials are limited to the results of the analysis of quantitative data obtained from the forms of federal statistical observation.

Conclusion. Rural health care employs up to 9% of physicians out of the total number of physician personnel, and the average medical personnel accounts for 34% of the total number of employees of health care organizations in the country. However, the provision of the population with medical and paramedical personnel remains low, staffing of regular positions is decreasing. The subjects with the most pronounced “ageing” and “rejuvenation” of both medical and paramedical personnel have been identified.

Compliance with ethical standards. This study does not require a conclusion from the Local Ethics Committee.

Contribution of the authors:
Latyshova A.A. — text writing, statistical processing, design;
Nesvetailo N.Ya. — editing;
Liutsko V.V. — research design;
Ivanova M.A. — concept, editing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of its final version.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: September 25, 2023 / Accepted: December 20, 2023 / Published: February 28, 2025