Understanding health care service quality in developing Latin America

Migration and health right: Probabilistic estimate of the factors that impact on health right of the migrant population, Peru 2019-2021

The study aims to identify factors associated with the violation of the right to health of the regular migrant population with respect to the nonmigrant population in Peru during the period 2019-2021, based on the complaints of health services users. It is a three-year cross-sectional and retrospective study on a total population of 122,505 complainants to the National Superintendency of Health (SUSALUD). The types of health rights used were those established in Peruvian Law No. 29414. An unordered multinomial probability model was used to estimate the probability of belonging to five types of violated rights based on the regular migrant and nonmigrant population, and the exogenous variables that affect this probability. The individual significance tests of the model, the tests for combining categories and the test of independence of irrelevant alternatives by means of the Wald and Hausman-McFadden tests were previously taken. The results indicated an increase in complaints from regular migrants of 5.6% in the 2019-2021 period unlike nonmigrants who had a decrease of 12.2%. The greatest probability that health rights of regular migrants are violated refers to access to information and the right to care and recovery, where their probability of violation is 27.7% and 25.4%, respectively (p-v < 0.05, CI = 95%). Likewise, health rights are more likely to be violated if they are women; if they are adults (41 years old on average); if they do not possess any type of health insurance; if they use Peruvian Ministry of Health (MINSA) services; and if they are located in metropolitan cities, such as Lima and Callao.

People and place attachment: Exploring compliance in neighborhood health centers

This article explores the roles of place attachment and social relationships in encouraging clients of a health center to comply with their health providers' directives. We draw on place attachment theory to explore the extent to which emotional bonds between clients and the center promote compliance. Next, we draw on place social bonding to explore whether clients' experiences derived from interactions at the center encourage compliance. Based on data obtained from center clients, we conclude that place attachment and social bonding drive compliance. From a practical perspective, providers and clients must engage in social interaction to promote compliance and engender place attachment.

Parent Engagement and Agency in Latin American Childhood Cancer Treatment: A Qualitative Investigation

PURPOSE

Parent engagement in childhood cancer treatment is central for positive outcomes. Aspects of fruitful engagement have been described mainly in high-income countries (HICs) where family autonomy is valued, health care provider-patient relationships are less hierarchical, and active family participation in health care is welcomed. In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), these aspects are not always valued or encouraged. We explored childhood cancer treatment engagement in Latin America as part of a larger engagement study in 10 LMICs worldwide.

METHODS

A qualitative investigation was conducted with parents (with the exception of one grandmother and two aunts in loco parentis; n = 21) of children with cancer in El Salvador, Peru, and Mexico. Participants were recruited by two Childhood Cancer International foundations and two local hospitals. A pediatric oncology psychologist and a medical anthropologist (experienced, native Latin Americans researchers) conducted focus-group discussions and in-depth interviews that were recorded and transcribed, and analyzed data.

RESULTS

Parents in the three countries actively engage in their child’s treatment, despite challenges of communicating effectively with health care staff. Hierarchical health care provider relationships and generalized socioeconomic disparities and cultural diversity with health care staff notwithstanding, parents find ways to navigate cancer treatment by exerting their agency and exploiting resources they have at hand.

CONCLUSION

In Latin America, engagement materializes in ways that are not necessarily reflected in existing literature from HICs and, thus, engagement may seem nonexistent. Health care teams’ recognition of parents’ substantial sacrifices to adhere to complex demands as treatment engagement, may positively impact the children’s (and family’s) quality of life, treatment experience, adherence, and posttreatment circumstances.

Ascertaining service quality and medical practitioners' sensitivity towards surgical instruments using SERVQUAL

Purpose

Service quality (SQ) has become an essential and indispensable component in healthcare and many other industries. SQ can deliver guaranteed stakeholder value and consequent consumer delight in the healthcare sector. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationships of various SERVQUAL elements with respect to the SQ of surgical instrument suppliers among surgeons.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from a sample of 112 surgeons working in the USA using the “snowball sampling” technique. A few standardised questionnaires, including SERQUAL, were used to collect the data. R-programming was used to perform structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis on the collected data.

Findings

The research study identified that service delivery factors and the SQ of surgical instruments contribute significantly towards medical practitioner sensitivity in the US healthcare industry. Word of mouth (WOM) did not have any significant impact on the medical practitioners' sensitivity.

Originality/value

A review of related literature revealed that studies that examine the surgeon's perspectives of SQ are scarce. Thus, the present study is directed towards this gap in literature. The findings of the study are significant in nature and have made a substantial contribution to management literature.

The impact of institutional voids on risk and performance in base-of-the-pyramid supply chains

Purpose

Base-of-the-pyramid (BoP) markets are frequently characterized by institutional voids. However, it remains unclear how institutional voids impact corporate and supply chain risk and performance. This intersection will be analyzed in this paper.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a systematic literature review of 94 BoP papers published between 2004 and 2019 in peer-reviewed, English-language journals available on Scopus. Drawing upon established frameworks for examining institutional voids, supply chain risks and BoP performance, frequency, and contingency analyses are conducted. Contingencies are established to provide insights into the associations between different constructs from the selected frameworks.

Findings

Supply chain risks are pervasive in the BoP discourse, especially when BoP markets are characterized by institutional voids. The frequency analysis of the constructs suggests that the key supply chain risks discussed in the BoP literature include social risk, credit risk, product market and operating uncertainties, knowledge and skill biases and decision-maker risks due to bounded rationality. The contingency analysis suggests that institutional voids are associated with supply chain risks that affect performance.

Research limitations/implications

A theoretical framework aligning three research streams in the context of BoP calls for future studies to test the causality of highlighted constructs that are significantly associated. The analysis is confined to the constructs that are taken into account based on specific conceptual frameworks.

Practical implications

The study provides practitioners with a framework to manage supply chain risks in BoP-related firms to enhance firm performance. Managers can use key dimensions of supply chain risk, such as the product market, the input market and operating uncertainties, to evaluate performance in the BoP context.

Originality/value

Specifically, this research has strengthened the inquiry of supply chain risks in the presence of institutional voids that may have an impact on firm performance

Treatment of chronic venous insufficiency in Latin America

OBJECTIVE

Venous disease is common in Latin America, with an estimated 68.11% prevalence of chronic venous disease. The diverse social, political, and economic characteristics of the many nations that make up Latin America mean that different conditions affect how these diseases are diagnosed and treated, which may differ markedly from the way they are treated by the health care systems of the United States and Europe. Our goal was to review the current state of treatment of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) in Latin America.

METHODS

This is a narrative review of the medical literature on the subject and synthesizes sometimes fragmentary information on CVI across a large and diverse region.

RESULTS

CVI represents an unmet medical need in Latin America. Conservative treatments, such as compression stockings, may be used at first, and there are nonpharmacologic and complementary and alternative medicine approaches in use. Endovenous approaches, such as endovenous thermal ablation, have largely replaced surgical interventions. In Europe and the United States, such procedures are mainly carried out in ambulatory facilities, whereas they are mainly performed in the hospital in Latin America.

CONCLUSIONS

Recent strong economic growth in Latin America and improvements in social security and health care suggest that innovative approaches to chronic venous disease and CVI will be implemented.