Pediatricians

Distribution of pediatricians based on the survey conducted on physicians concerning their departments. In the survey, each physician gave multiple answers concerning their departments and the concentration of pediatricians was calculated from the number of physicians engaged in pediatrics. Because a considerable number of pediatric surgeons is believed to be engaged in pediatrics as well, the calculation is based on only the number engaged in pediatrics in order to eliminate overlaps in number. The population of those aged 15 or below is used as the denominator.

Like the obstetrics department, the pediatrics department is a department in which there is a shortage of physicians. The following are given as reasons why the pediatrics department is shunned:

• Children often develop fevers at night and many must be treated during nighttime hours
• Because it is difficult for children to grasp their own physical condition, many parents take them to their pediatricians just in case
• There are many areas in which the charges are free and many receive medical care for the slightest conditions, as if going to a convenience store
• Questioning patients and giving injections are difficult compared to adult patients, but compensation is the same

Fukushima is ranked first. There are many physicians in general in Fukushima as well as pediatricians. Although the number of physicians tended to be a high-west low-east distribution, there are many pediatricians in the central part of Japan as well, and in Kyushu, the Chugoku region and Shikoku, there are both prefectures with many pediatricians and few pediatricians.

The correlative ranking shows that it is positively correlated with the Number of Physicians, Practicing Physicians, obstetricians and gynecologists and medical schools. It can be said that there are many physicians where there are many medical schools and many pediatricians where there are many physicians.

It seems that there is no strong connection between birth rate and the number of pediatritians.