Healthcare in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is overdue for an upgrade. Are there digital health investments that governments can make today to both curb the growth of non-communicable diseases and start them on the path of sustainable digital transformation? If you happen to be reading this blog on your smartphone, you might be aware that your app store is full of options that promise solutions. Has your health provider ever prescribed you one?
Meet Elizabeth, an 80-year-old widow with multiple chronic health conditions for years. Previously, she relied solely on her daughter Angela for unpaid assistance with personal care and household tasks. Angela lives close by and cares for Elizabeth before or after going to her job at a local supermarket and on her days off. Unfortunately, Elizabeth’s needs for assistance became too much for Angela to handle alongside her job and supporting her own family.
“In LAC, 70% of excess deaths that could have been avoided by adequate healthcare are due to low quality of care while 30% are due to lack of access to care.” This striking statistic is often used to highlight the importance of quality for health outcomes, including in the IDB’s Health Sector Framework. But what is the basis for this estimate, and what does it mean? What is the situation for specific countries or health conditions?
Mental health disorders are common and disabling throughout the world. Rich and poor countries experience the devastating consequences of these disorders, representing approximately 20% of the global burden of diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean, with mental health disorders representing only 0.4% of all public healthcare funding globally. Besides, there are massive inequalities in access to mental health services depending on socio-economic status, with the poorest, the most badly affected, the least likely to have access to help.
A few years ago, I wrote an article about the benefits of becoming a mother after the age of 40. Although pregnancy caused significant changes and discomfort, the excitement of my child’s arrival overshadowed those challenges. What I didn't expect was that, years later, I would again experience intense changes.
Our guest author for this blog is the artificial intelligence platform known as GPT. We asked GPT to tell us what are the main challenges to digital transformation in health in the region. Our Editorial Committee did not add any subtitles, hyperlinks or make any edits. So, here is the result:
Increasing COVID-19 vaccine take-up is key to protecting people from death and disability. Research increasingly shows that COVID-19 not only increases the risk of premature death but also can have long-lasting consequences resulting in chronic conditions and incapacitating illnesses –also known as long COVID. However, despite the benefits of vaccines, governments are still struggling to vaccinate large proportions of their population.
How can we ensure that digital health improves health outcomes in an inclusive way in Latin America and the Caribbean? This was one of the main points of discussion among country leaders in our Social Protection and Health Division’s Regional Policy Dialogue, Digital Health for All: LAC’s Golden Opportunity to improve the efficiency, quality and equity of sector.
It is almost 3 years since COVID-19 began to spread, causing one of the most massive global disruptions of modern times. But it also spurred changes that hold the key to better health and better healthcare services in the future.
If you are 65 years old in Panama, you can expect to live 14 additional years in good health and free of poverty. This is 9 years more than in Honduras, and 4 years above the average for Latin American and Caribbean countries. In a recent study, we calculate this measure of older persons’ quality of life for all the countries of the region.