Olonilua D, Marrero AMC, Hernández CL

Language: Spanish
References: 0
Page: 80-97
PDF size: 284.68 Kb.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Equity in health is the opportunity for everyone to reach their highest level of health. The government guarantees health equity by prioritizing universal access to healthcare in its policies.
Objective: To describe the equity in health in Cuba based on the distribution of budgetary resources and the results of the main health indicators.
Methods: A longitudinal descriptive study on health equity in Cuba, using as basis of comparison, some countries of the Americas: Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and the United States in the period 2005-2015. Secondary information obtained from bibliographic and documentary review was used.
Results: A slight growth of per capita health expenditure in the selected countries is shown. Cuba has similar values than the countries in the selected areas; however, the infant mortality rate and under-five mortality rate in Cuba is the lowest with values between 6 and 4%, and 8 and 6% respectively. Maternal mortalityshows decreasing tendency, which is not a satisfactory result. Life expectancy at birth in the selected countries steadily increased, and Cuba presents values from 77 to 79.1 years.
Conclusions: Equity in resource distribution is necessary for the achievement of good results of health indicators. The results achieved in each country studied reflect that the balance between health and socioeconomic development is not enough if there is no structured project for this purpose.