Hospitals in the Portuguese national health service
- Biometrics & Biostatistics International Journal
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João Castilho, Paulo Gomes
Abstract
National health systems are vital for ensuring equitable healthcare access and societal
well-being. Despite their objectives, such as disease treatment, health promotion, financial
sustainability, and quality services, they face complex challenges, particularly in health care
access. Portugal’s National Health System (NHS) is strained by an increasing and aging
population.
This paper, using a 2019 official database, just analyzes the human resources available
in public hospitals at subregions level (NUTS III) and one critical outcome related to the
surgical activity of these nuclear health units covering thirteen main specialties. Cluster
analysis proved to be an effective statistical methodology to detect disparities between
regions across the country. Key finding revealed Coimbra Region as having the best health’s
human resources followed by two metropolitan areas of Lisboa and Porto in contrast to
most of the surrounding subregions.
This investigation underscores the need for target health policies to improve resource
distribution within Portugal’s NHS.
Keywords
cluster analysis, healthcare services, health indicators, national health service, Portugal
