Economic Determinants for Building the National System for Comprehensive Life Care

Abstract

Cuba is making progress in building the National System for Comprehensive Care of Life, which has a high degree of alignment with regional recommendations. This research seeks to fill a gap in the literature related to the scarcity of studies addressing the economic determinants of implementing such systems in underdeveloped economies with severe budget constraints, as well as analyses of the key conditions for developing and sustaining them in a context of economic crisis. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, and the procedure for data collection, analysis, and interpretation of results was descriptive and documentary. Eight key determinants were identified: public financing; sustainability of the financing model; estimation of care demand; estimation of service costs; introduction of functional measurement tools; regulation of the care-related labor market and availability of human resources; potential gaps between urban and rural areas in terms of infrastructure and service provision; and investment in information systems. Implementing comprehensive care systems involves a significant set of challenges that demand political will for their transformation, as well as progressive approaches that prioritize vulnerable populations and the design of mixed financing mechanisms