Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

“That’S Enough Patients For Everyone!”: Local Stakeholders’ Views On Attracting Patients Into Barbados And Guatemala’S Emerging Medical Tourism Sectors, Jeremy Snyder, Valorie A. Crooks, Rory Johnston, Alejandro Cerón, Ronald Labonte

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

Background

Medical tourism has attracted considerable interest within the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region. Governments in the region tout the economic potential of treating foreign patients while several new private hospitals primarily target international patients. This analysis explores the perspectives of a range of medical tourism sector stakeholders in two LAC countries, Guatemala and Barbados, which are beginning to develop their medical tourism sectors. These perspectives provide insights into how beliefs about international patients are shaping the expanding regional interest in medical tourism.

Methods

Structured around the comparative case study methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 medical tourism …

Providers’ Perspectives On Inbound Medical Tourism In Central America And The Caribbean: Factors Driving And Inhibiting Sector Development And Their Health Equity Implications, Rory Johnston, Valorie A. Crooks, Alejandro Cerón, Ronald Labonté, Jeremy Snyder, Emanuel O. Núñez, Walter G. Flores

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

Background

Many governments and health care providers worldwide are enthusiastic to develop medical tourism as a service export. Despite the popularity of this policy uptake, there is relatively little known about the specific local factors prospectively motivating and informing development of this sector.

Objective

To identify common social, economic, and health system factors shaping the development of medical tourism in three Central American and Caribbean countries and their health equity implications.

Design

In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Mexico, Guatemala, and Barbados with 150 health system stakeholders. Participants were recruited from private and public sectors working in various fields: trade …

Abuse And Discrimination Towards Indigenous People In Public Health Care Facilities: Experiences From Rural Guatemala, Alejandro Cerón, Ana Lorena Ruano, Silvia Sánchez, Aiken S. Chew, Diego Díaz, Alison Hernández, Walter G. Flores

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

Background

Health inequalities disproportionally affect indigenous people in Guatemala. Previous studies have noted that the disadvantageous situation of indigenous people is the result of complex and structural elements such as social exclusion, racism and discrimination. These elements need to be addressed in order to tackle the social determinants of health. This research was part of a larger participatory collaboration between Centro de Estudios para la Equidad y Gobernanza en los Servicios de Salud (CEGSS) and community based organizations aiming to implement social accountability in rural indigenous municipalities of Guatemala. Discrimination while seeking health care services in public facilities was ranked …

Local Disease Concepts Relevant To The Design Of A Community-Based Surveillance Program For Influenza In Rural Guatemala, Alejandro Cerón, Maria Renee Ortiz, Danilo Álvarez, Guy H. Palmer, Celia Cordón-Rosales

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

Background

Early detection of emergent influenza strains is a global health priority. However, maintaining active surveillance is economically and logistically challenging. While community-based surveillance is an attractive alternative, design and operation of an effective epidemiological surveillance program requires community engagement that can be linked to public health reporting and response. We report the results of a study in rural Guatemalan communities aimed at identifying opportunities for and barriers to community engagement in disease surveillance.

Methods

Using an ethnographic approach followed by a descriptive cross-sectional survey, we documented local terms and ideas about animal illnesses, including the possibility of animal-human transmission. …

Propiedad Intelectual Y Acceso A Medicamentos: El Caso De Lopinavir/Ritonavir En Guatemala, Luis Pablo Méndez-Alburez, Alejandro Cerón

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.