@2024 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2538-4384    Geographical Researches 2020;35(4):325-332

Background
Inequality between countries and even between cities and regions in a country is of great importance. Health inequality is the problem of both developed and developing countries.
Previous Studies
Proper access to urban services and their fair distribution particularly in the case of health and sanitation is one of the necessities of social equity in the world [Jones et al., 2014: 25]. According to the human capital theory, health is one of the most influential factors on economic development and curtailing poverty [Audibert, 2009]. Jeba et al. (2014) believe there is a significant relationship between health and sanitation costs and life expectancy. Rezaei & Akbari (2018) in their research evaluated the health indicators in Fars cities showed that there is inequality among various cities. Costa et al. (2019) analyzed the available patterns in the studied metropolises and concluded that sanitation and health indicators are unequal in such cities.
Aim(s)
This study aimed to assess the sanitation and health inequalities in Kohgiluye and Boyer-Ahmad cities using the MABAK technique.
Research type
This is an analytical-comparative study.
Research society, place and time
The current research is carried out in eight cities of Kohgiluye and Boyer-Ahmad province in 2018.
Sampling method and number
The research is done in all 8 cities of Kohgiluye and Boyer-Ahmad.
Used devices&materials
21 variables were used in the Mabak technique for the current study.
Findings by Text
All 21 studied health variables in Kohgiluye and Boyer-Ahmad in 2018 were positive. Then, the first equation was used to normalize the research data. As it is explained in the fourth phase of the MABAK technique, the standardized matrix is multiplied in the weight of 21 variables that are calculated using Shanon Entropy and are weighted normalized matrix is calculated after the calculation of the weight of each variable. Then, boundary matrix of the estimation of the studied indicators. This matrix was calculated for the indicators of health and sanitation in Kohgiluye and Boyer-Ahmad cities in 2018 using the geometric mean in the MABAK technique (Table 1 & Table 2). The matrix of distance from estimation area boundaries was calculated for the health and sanitation indicators in Kohgiluye and Boyer-Ahmad in 2018.Boyer-Ahmad with a score of 0.0129 is the first rank in terms of the total number of health and sanitation centers, while Lendeh is the last one (Table 2). Kohgiluye and Boyer-Ahmad cities are categorized into four classes of privileged, almost privileged, deprived, and very deprived that shows the unfair distribution of health and sanitation services (Table 3).
Main comparison to the similar studies
The findings of the current research is consistent with the result of Ghazanfarpour (2013). They found out although various levels of health and sanitation are acceptable because of the various urban populations, this proportion is not always proper because there are some regions with more population that receives less health and sanitation services. Mousavi et al. (2016) achieved similar results showing that the distribution of health and sanitation services is tailored to the population needs in Khorasan Razavi's province. In their research, Rezaei & Akbari (2018) showed that access to health and sanitation services is one of the primary necessities in regional and urban sustainable development.
Suggestions
There are no suggestions reported.
Limitations
There are no limitations reported.
Conclusions
The comparative analysis of health and sanitation services and indicators in Kohgiluye and Boyer-Ahmad is imbalanced and heterogeneous. Due to the lack of access to health and sanitation services and the shortage of spaces providing such services, all eight cities of Kohgiluye and Boyer-Ahmad face various problems that need to be tackled. Development poles in Iran have worsened regional inequities. At the national level, Tehran as the country's capital owns the majority of the services and at the provincial level, the services are allocated to provinces' capitals such as Mashhad, Shiraz, Kerman, and Yasuj that have increased inequity and imbalance.
Acknowledgments
None.
Conflict of interest
None.
Ethical Permissions
None.
Funding Sources
None.

TABLES and CHARTS

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