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[Health service coverage in Latin America and the Caribbean]
1Instituto Universitario para la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, La Plata, Argentina.
Summary
Millions in Latin America and the Caribbean lack health care coverage. Key indicators like prenatal care show significant gaps, highlighting the need for targeted health sector reforms to improve population health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
- Health Policy
Context:
- Global "health for all" initiatives since the 1970s lack robust evaluation metrics.
- Latin American and Caribbean countries are undergoing health sector reforms, necessitating better data on health care coverage.
- Limited understanding exists regarding the relationship between health care service characteristics and population coverage.
Purpose:
- To assess the extent of health care service exclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- To develop health service profiles for informing health sector reform policies.
- To analyze the correlation between health system structure, coverage, and health outcomes.
Summary:
- The study evaluated health care exclusion using indicators such as poliomyelitis vaccination, BCG vaccination, prenatal care, and professionally attended childbirths in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- In 1995, an estimated 40 million people lacked BCG vaccination coverage, and 137 million lacked prenatal care coverage.
- Analysis of health system characteristics, coverage indicators, and health outcomes revealed a significant association between prenatal care/attended childbirths and reduced infant/maternal mortality.
Impact:
- Provides crucial data for designing effective health sector reforms in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Identifies specific areas where health care coverage is lacking, enabling targeted interventions.
- Demonstrates a statistically significant link between accessible maternal and child health services and improved mortality rates, underscoring the importance of these services.