Exploring social innovation in health in Central America and the Caribbean

Universal health coverage is a public health priority in the Americas. Social innovation in health offers novel solutions to unmet needs, by enabling health care delivery to be more inclusive, affordable, and effective. In 2017, an international collaborative consortium launched an open call for solutions that sought to identify social innovations in health in Central America and the Caribbean. The focus was set on how these solutions can strengthen health care delivery, with emphasis on reducing the impact of neglected transmissible diseases. A crowdsourcing strategy was implemented to identify social innovations in health. These were evaluated by an external panel of experts and practitioners and civil society representing the health and social innovation sectors, based on the appropriateness, innovativeness, and affordability of the solution. The three top-scoring solutions were analyzed through case studies including site visits by a team of investigators. Two key findings emerged from the response to the call: 1) innovative solutions were based on the knowledge and experience of individuals and communities facing adverse situations; 2) this knowledge was shared through health promotion and education, leading to empowerment of the communities. The principal challenges addressed by the solutions were the limited access to quality health care services and failed traditional strategies for vector control. The solutions identified demonstrated how social innovation can strengthen health systems by delivering novel solutions to health needs and articulating communities to enable them to work hand-in-hand with the health system toward universal health.