"The Peruvian health sector has recovered rapidly after collapsing in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a result of hyperinflation and terrorism. Total public and private spending on health rose by over 50% in real terms in the three years after 1994. The supply of health services increased sharply,... Health outcomes have also improved rapidly in recent years..."Several reforms were attempted during the health sector's recuperative years. Some were successful, others failed. To increase the chances for success in the future, policymakers in Peru must face three key challenges: • continue to reduce the large gap between the health status of the poor and that of the nonpoor; • increase the resources assigned to provide care for the poor; • increase the efficiency in the use of these resources. This report is meant to help the Government continue to develop its agenda to improve health care for the poor. Its focus is on poverty, and particularly on ways to improve the Ministry of Health's primary health subprogram, rather than on sector-wide reforms, to increase efficiency. The report emphasizes that there is much to be gained by sustaining and deepening the reforms directed toward improving health care for the poor while using the shift in focus and responding to the key challenges. The executive summary and introduction are provided in both English and Spanish.

A comprehensive guide to improving communication with Spanish-speaking patients and their families, and English-speaking medical personnel, Salud is an invaluable reference tool. It provides needed information to enable effective communication that will result in more thorough patient interviews, identification of existing conditions, and, ultimately, a more comfortable relationship between healthcare provider and patient. A quick, easy-to-use reference book, Salud is for medical students, nurses, doctors, hospital administrators, health care personnel, home health care workers, social workers, and translators in the health care profession. The medical dictionary and alphabetical phrase sections will make it easy to find and cross-reference the correct Spanish-English words and phrases. There are also focused care dialogues ranging from AIDS, anaesthesia, and breast exam, to unconscious patient, urinary retention, and visiting hours. The materials in this book were adapted from a variety of English- and Spanish-language sources for the sole purpose of language enrichment and should not be construed as medical advice or instruction.

tos sociales, económicos y políticos de los problemas de salud. Los autores, jóvenes médicos especialistas bien conocidos en Francia y Québec, proponen medios concretos para abordar los problemas de salud desde una óptica comunitariaasí como la aplicación de soluciones que, al mismo tiempo, sean eficaces y respetuosas con los individuos. Nos muestran apoyándose en ejemplos demostrativos, cómo concentrando bien los esfuerzos pueden superarse los obstáculos e inercias del sistema.

Community Health Workers in Action proposes support and expansion of the role of community health workers in meeting the health needs of marginalized groups in United States cities (although their potential reach is not limited to any one group or geographical section). Given the health inequities that continue to touch the lives of millions of people of color across the country, these professionals' efforts--which translate to innovative, community-centered responses designed to reach particularly vulnerable populations--are quite timely. In order to truly understand the topic of health care, one must first explore its historical contexts, socio-cultural factors, and the ways in which values play a critical role in shaping a worldview of the right to quality care. This book offers readers a window into the dynamic field that continues to expand in highly creative and cost-effective ways, which ultimately shape one major piece of the complicated puzzle that is health care in America.

"Salud comunitaria global: principios, métodos y programas en el mundo" ofrece, al futuro y actual especialista en medicina de famila, profesionales de salud pública y gestión, recursos exhaustivos para abordar el cuidado de la comunidad. Se trata de una obra que define un marco de trabajo para la integración del cuidado individual en los sistemas de salud pública, y se convierte en una fuente de recursos exhaustivos en Atención Primaria, orientada a la Comunidad y Comunitaria dirigida a la Salud Pública.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) may not imply changes in the immigration laws of its signatories, but it will make it easier for people to move freely among Canada, Mexico, and the United States. One of the concerns arising from NAFTA involves meeting the health care needs of people who move from one member country to another. The publication analyzes the legal implications of the access to health care by individuals from NAFTA countries who are temporarily working or residing in another member country. The book compares the health systems of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, focusing on their principles and objectives, legal framework, institutional structure, operational modalities, and outcomes. Detailing the similarities and differences among the systems of these three countries, this publication attempts to anticipate the treaty's potential benefit or detriment to access to health care services and examines the expectations and concerns that free trade generates in this respect.