Demographics and spatial distribution of the Brazilian dermatologists

ABSTRACT

Abstract The medical-dermatological demographics favors health planning and guides expansion of the specialty. We conducted an ecological study of dermatologists members of the Brazilian Society of Dermatology (SBD). We evaluated gender, age, address; which were compared with population and human development index indicators of municipalities. We evaluated 8384 members, distributed in 527 (9.5%) municipalities throughout Brazil. The female sex represented 78.4% of the members and the median age was 43 (36-54) years. The median density of dermatologists was 0.35 (0.21-0.37) per 10,000 inhabitants. The correlation (Spearman's rho) between density of dermatologists and human development index was 0.39 (p <0.01). The Brazilian dermatologist is characterized as female, age <50 years and presenting an heterogeneous distribution throught the country.