Pdf cubas exclusively public health system has been quite unique in pairing limited resources with excellent results. A number of studies describe and analyze the cuban health system at a structural level1 5. This article assesses cuban healthcare, not just for cubans but also for those who receive the care of cuban health professionals working worldwide. Health system differences between cuba and the united states likely account for much of cubas ability to do more with less. Perspectives from cuba s national health system 271 approach before the trip was embarked on, the cuban ministry of health was contacted to inform them of the purpose of the visit and to arrange interviews with key people. World health organization ranking of health systems in. Perspectives from cubas national health system radcliffe publishing. During her recent visit to havana in july of 2014, margaret chan, directorgeneral of the world health organization who, impressed by the countrys achievements in this field, praised the cuban health care system. Describe cuba s primary health care model and its main experiences 4.
Cuba health system universal free accessible everyone has the right to health protection and care. A literature search, reading, and discussions with individuals and organisations with an interest in cuban. Cubas health system is strongly focused on prevention. A primary selling point of socialism is that everyone is treated equally regardless of class or ability to pay. Community healthcare services in cuba cuba s contribution to the world. Health system in cuba pan american journal of public health. Some of our lack of knowledge about the cuban experience may be because the us.
The present minister for public health is roberto morales ojeda like the rest of the cuban economy, cuban medical care suffered following the end of soviet. Introduction during the early years of the revolutionary period in cuba, the integral polyclinic was created. Full text full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Cubas surprisingly costeffective healthcare forbes. While the health care system is still consistently supported by public policy and its structure is sound, economic crisis undermines its material and moral foundations and threatens its achievements. Health system in cuba designed by ezeddin oun soula najib mohamed ibrahim elmasauri tareq omar eljahouni istanbul medipol university 2. The economy contracted some 40%, and there was simply less money to spend on a health care system, or on anything else.
Indeed, the 2000 results have proved so controversial that the who declined to rank countries in their world health reports since 2000, but the debate still rages on. Home decorating style 2020 for cuban healthcare system pdf, you can see cuban healthcare system pdf and more pictures for home interior designing 2020 817 at manuals library. Preventive and curative quality care in an equitable societal context eisen 1996. Although mutual awareness has been limited by longterm political hostilities between the united states and cuban governments, the history and details of the cuban health system indicate that their health system merits attention as an example of a national integrated approach resulting in improved health status. For the past 50 years, cuba has developed an exclusively public and integrated national health system providing adequate and accessible health services feinsilver 1993. Introduction this article first introduces the community health care network of cuba, mainly focusing on the threelevel setup of the cuban community healthcare system. How does a poor undeveloped nation have one of the best medical systems in the world when 1st world nations are having great difficulty funding medical care for their citizens. The most serious flaw in the policy forum is its unquestioning faith in the legitimacy of cuban government health data. There, they interviewed not only health professionals, but parents too, to ascertain awareness about vaccination. The complex lived reality of cuban health seeking may only be understood in the context. An admirable accomplishment with lurking questions john f.
Prerevolution health care was marketled3 huge inequities in resource allocation existed60% of all doctors were located in the capital city of havana1 at the advent of the revolution 1959, half. The cuban government operates a national health system and assumes fiscal and administrative responsibility for the health care of all its citizens. This video is a class project on the cuban healthcare system. Health workforce development in the cuban health system. N on the recent ceres tour of cuba i took the opportunity wherever i could to find out more about the. The who country health profile of cuba provides key statistics and links to health topical databases, plus news, features and bulletin journal articles on the health issues of the country.
The cuban health care system and child health outcomes. As i understand it one of cubas major exports is doctors. Cubas national health system since the 1959 revolution. Is the cuban healthcare system really as great as people claim. It may be struggling but i cannot think of any health care system around the world that isnt struggling at some extent. It was defined as the basic unit of the national health system, which included all health activities within.
With such a high demand for personnel, some suspect that the cuban government has been reducing educational requirements to hasten students entry into the work force. The fundamentals of how a government system provides for its citizens rests on the morals and ideologies that underlie the system itself. How does cuba manage to achieve firstworld health statistics. All articles are available also in english through the individual dois below. Identify the components of primary health care and their application models 3. Inside the system, the challenges are disparity between different income groups and inequity in health education and employment. Although many of the cuban health indicators are among the best. Cuban social policy issues program spring 2014 final paper.
Everyone has a family physician, everything is fre. The second healthcare system is for cuban elites the party, the military, official artists and writers, and so on. Kennedy once stated, children are the worlds most valuable resource and its best hope for the future. It is unlikely that the united states will adopt socialized health care any time soon, but some of the cuban systems distinguishing features might still provide useful lessons. A well trained and well managed workforce is crucial for facilitating access to good quality health services. In the mid1990s, the ministry of public health minsap, the. Medicc, cnns vital signs, and the daily beast were sources used and incorporated into this pro. According to primary health care in cuba, the other revolution, the development of the cuban healthcare system is based on three central assumptions. The national health system a health system is all those organizations, institutions and resources whose prime goal is the improvement of human health, so it embraces all activities that have the aim of promoting, restoring or maintaining health 12. The cuban health care system has been weakened in the last seven years, as the end of soviet bloc aid and preferential trade terms damaged the economy overall. Although cuba has limited economic resources, its health care system has solved some problems that the u. Pdf overview of the cuban health system julie m feinsilver. Is the cuban healthcare system really as great as people.
Cubas accomplishments in infant health have been used to praise the health system created by the revolution and are still presented as one of the best. The cuban constitutions protection of health cuba enacted the constitution of the republic of cuba, its first postrevolutionary constitution, in 1976. For example, in exchange for sending 3,500 health care workers to work in and provide training in venezuela, a close cuban ally, venezuela sends oil. Cuban health system have been attained with a disregard for various human rights related to health, including free speech, respect for patient dignity, and the right to receive a full salary. This highly structured, preventionoriented system has produced impressive, positive results. In the soviet union, these people were called the nomenklatura. Contemplating economic development without considering the health and education of children is shortsighted. Cuban health system which has interested me for some time. Like many others, i do not think the cuban system is decadent. From a politicaladministrative standpoint, the country is divided into 14 provinces. Enthusiasm around the cuban health system often stems from an. Community based polyclinics are the centre piece of cubas primary health care system. Multispecialty polyclinics were established across cuba in the 1970s, before the 1978 declaration of almaata, and these were transformed with the addition of the family doctorandnurse programme in the mid1980s, enhancing the health system s ability to deliver on prevention and community health analysis, as well as clinical services.
The cuban health care system and factors currently. Cuba is the only country that has a health care system closely linked to. There are no private hospitals or clinics as all health services are governmentrun. Characterize primary health care phc as the base of a health care system 2. Julie feinsilver in community health care in cuba edited by susan e. One for foreigners who can pay with hard currency, one for cuban elites government officials, celebrities, etc. Cuba primary health care in action world health organization. The articles present important evidence about the health care model, health innovations, resilience and solidarity of the health system of cuba, potentially applicable to other health systems of the region of the americas. Overview of evolving changes in cubas health services. Outside the system, the challenges include domestic economic difficulties and the u. Public health in cuba is not a priority, my public health class teacher had finally said something that brought me back from daydreaming it is an obsession. Communitybased polyclinics are the centre piece of cubas primary health care system. The cuban constitution defines the country as an independent, sovereign, democratic, and socialist state.
Identify the components of primary health care and their application models. Given cubas experience, the article suggests that the cuban community healthcare. Identify the reasons behind the renewal of the primary health care. The overall performance of the cuban health system, measured by progress in health conditions, has been overrated. Everyone has the right to the care and protection of their health. In over a decade of discussion and controversy over the who ranking of 2000, there is still no consensus about how an objective world health system ranking should be compiled. By focusing on primary care and health promotion, the cuban health care model strives to identify and produce solutions to health problems at the community level.
The future of the current cuban health care system is intertwined with the potentials for its socialist development. Dr rebeca mendoza, the director of a polyclinic in havana, cuba. Universal health coverage and universal access to health care. Health is a social issue, as well as a biological one. This article describes the development of the cuban health system over more than four decades and analyzes its dynamics. Cubas health care system is based on preventive medicine and the results achieved are outstanding. The health system should cooperate in global health activities. The state guarantees this right article 49 of the cuban constitution1 stage one. According to margaret chan, the world should follow the example of the island in this arena and replace the curative model, inefficient and more expensive, with a preventionbased system. Enthusiasm around the cuban health system often stems from an exclusive attention to one indicator, infant mortality rate imr, the value of which has been manipulated by a state seeking political legitimacy. Describe cubas primary health care model and its main experiences 4. I am writing to protest the egregious misrepresentation of the cuban health care system presented by p. The cuban public health system focuses research on.
This brief article examines the development of the health workforce and the systems that support them in cuba. After two years of clinical work in a cuban hospital being back in a classroom learning public health theory is somewhere between mind numbing and infuriating. The cuban national health system is the only health system operating in the country. An american who trained to be a doctor in cuba gives his views of the islands health service. Get a printable copy pdf file of the complete article 321k, or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Dugas and van dormael 2003 has led to remarkable health outcomes. Chapter 5 the future of health in cuba traci potterf while the term cuban health care conjures visions of a staterun health delivery infrastructure, the struggle for health and wellbeing in cuba extends beyond both biomedicine and government planning. Substantially changing the us health system at a structural level is a slow process at best and is virtually impossible for most family physicians. Primary health care in cuba consortium of universities.
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