The Analysis of Health Infrastructure in the Public Health System in Romania

Public health infrastructure plays a crucial role in the health of a population. The delivery of population health capabilities, such as allocating resources based on a community health plan, analyzing data on preventive services use, and engaging community stakeholders in health improvement planning, is associated with increased public health system strength. Population health approaches, which aim to enhance the health of whole populations, have been successful in improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities. An effective public health infrastructure is developed through several important factors. Strong institutional capacity, including public health laws that are responsive to contemporary public health issues, a skilled and empowered workforce, and an infrastructure capable of continuous monitoring, are among these important factors. A strong public health infrastructure and the implementation of population health strategies are essential for improving the health of a population. The main objective of this study is to analyze the health infrastructure in Romania’s public health systems using a spatial distribution of the number of doctors, hospitals, and hospital beds. The data were collected at the county level using the National Institute of Statistics - Tempo online database for the period 2014-2021. The results reveal disparities in the availability and quality of health infrastructure in different regions. These challenges highlight the need for integrated systems to improve the management strategies or plans for healthcare service allocation, they must ensure fair access and overcome spatial inequities.