The Institute for Global Health and Development
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/9
Browse
3 results
Search Results
Item The direct costs of home care in Cuba(Organización Panamericana de la Salud, 2007) Barroso Utra, Isabel M.; García Fariñas, Anai; Rodríguez Salvá, Armando; De Vos, Pol; Bonet‐Gorbea, Mariano; Van der Stuyft, PatrickOBJECTIVE: To analyze home care services in Cuba and determine how length of stay, per-day cost, and per-patient cost vary by diagnosis and by the area of the country in which the services are rendered.Item Public health services, an essential determinant of health during crisis. Lessons from Cuba, 1989–2000(Wiley, 2012-02-01) De Vos, Pol; García‐Fariñas, Anaí; Álvarez‐Pérez, Adolfo; Rodríguez Salvá, Armando; Bonet‐Gorbea, Mariano; Van der Stuyft, PatrickDuring the 1990s, Cuba was able to overcome a severe crisis, almost without negative health impacts. This national retrospective study covering the years 1989–2000 analyses the country’s strategy through essential social, demographic, health process and health outcome indicators. Gross domestic product (GDP) diminished by 34.76% between 1989 and 1993. In 1994 slow recuperation started. During the crisis, public health expenses increased. The number of family doctors rose from 9.22 to 27.03 per 104 inhabitants between 1989 and 2000. Infant mortality rate and life expectancy exemplify a series of health indicators that continued to improve during the crisis years, whereas low birth weight and tuberculosis incidence are among the few indicators that suffered deterioration. GDP is inversely related to tuberculosis incidence, whereas the average salary is inversely related to low birth weight. Infant mortality rate has a strong negative correlation with the health expenses per inhabitant, the number of maternal homes, the number of family doctors and the proportion of pregnant women receiving care in maternal homes. Life expectancy has a strong positive correlation with health expenses, the number of nursing personnel and the number of medical contacts per inhabitant. The Cuban strategy effectively resolved health risks during the crisis. In times of serious socio‐economic constraints, a well conceptualized public health policy can play an important role in maintaining the overall well‐being of a population.Item Assessment of hypertension management and control: A registry-based observational study in two municipalities in Cuba(BioMed Central, 2019-01-30) Londoño Agudelo, Esteban; Rodríguez Salvá, Armando; Díaz Piñera, Addys; García Roche, René; De Vos, Pol; Battaglioli, Tullia; Van der Stuyft, PatrickBackground - To determine the prevalence of hypertension treatment and control among hypertensive patients in the Cuban municipalities of Cardenas and Santiago and to explore the main associated predictors. Methods - Cross-sectional study, with multistage cluster sampling, conducted between February 2012 and January 2013 in two Cuban municipalities. We interviewed and measured blood pressure in 1333 hypertensive patients aged 18 years or older. Hypertension control was defined as blood pressure lower than 140/90 mmHg. Results - The mean age ± standard deviation (SD) of participants was 59.8 ± 14 years, the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure ± SD was 130.0 ± 14.4 and 83.1 ± 9.0 mmHg respectively. The majority of patients (91, 95%CI 90–93) were on pharmacological treatment, 49% with a combination of 2 or more classes of drugs. Among diagnosed hypertensive patients 58% (95%CI 55–61) had controlled hypertension. There was no association between hypertension control and gender, age and socio-economic condition. Levels of hypertension control depended on health area and control furthermore was positively associated with post-primary education, not being obese and white ethnicity: adjusted Odds Ratio (95% CI) 1.71 (1.26–2.34), 1.43 (1.09–1.88) and 1.41 (1.09–1.81) respectively. Conclusions - The observed figures are outstanding at the international level and illustrate that hypertension treatment and control are achievable in a resource-constrained setting such as Cuba. The country’s primary health care approach and social equity in access to health care can be seen as key determinants of this success. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement, as over a third of patients did not have controlled hypertension.