title: The Assessment of Inequality in the Geographical Distribution of Burn Beds in Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In recent years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized the importance of determining the equality of the distribution of healthcare resources. Inequalities in the healthcare system are one of the world's most important developmental challenges, and the inefficiencies that exist in healthcare systems are the most important reason for these challenges. Thermal burns are one of the common injuries worldwide, and their effects are a significant reason for the mortality and morbidity rates throughout the world. Considering the importance of burns as one of the 30 leading causes of death in Iran, this study was aimed to compare the distribution of burn beds with its disability-adjusted life years (DALY) in Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  This applied analytic-descriptive study was conducted in order to determine the distribution of burn beds in Iran using the Lorenz curve. In this way, the distribution of burn beds was analyzed in relation to the population of each province and lost DALY caused by burns in Iran. For each province, the number of burn beds in 2012 was collected from credible and authoritative sources at the Ministry of Health, and the population of each province was obtained using data from the National Center of Statistics. The data were analyzed and presented using Microsoft Office Excel.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Isfahan and Khorasan Razavi Provinces had approximately 11 and 10.4% of the country's burn beds, respectively. The Provinces that had the most DALY were Sistan Baluchestan, Fars, and Kerman with 10.75%, 10.34%, and 9.54%, respectively. The Gini coefficients of burn beds in relation to population and DALY were calculated as 0.09 and 0.16, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Gini coefficients in relation to population and DALY were less than 0.2. Although the Gini coefficient of the burn beds in relation to DALY was more than that for the population, the difference was not significant, and the distributions of beds regarding the two calculated coefficients were equal. It is recommended that healthcare policymakers distribute burn beds in proportion to the populations of the provinces.
authors.affiliation: M.Sc. Student of Health Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Geravandi
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Marziye
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Najafi
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Roya
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rajaee
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Saeid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahmoudi
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pakdaman
keywords: Gini coefficient; burn bed; equity; geographical distribution