Peru

Application of Activity-Based Costing (ABC) in a Peruvian NGO Healthcare System

This paper describes the application of activity-based costing (ABC) to calculate unit costs for a healthcare organization in a developing country. It also describes the ways in which these calcualtions can provide information for improving the efficiency and quality of healthcare services. [from abstract]

Community Health Workers in a Peruvian Slum Area: an Evaluation of Their Impact on Health Behavior

In 1986 the authors conducted a survey examining the performance of health promoters in Pucallpa, Peru, three years after an initial Danish project for training and supervising those promoters ended. The survey found that some two-fifths of the promoters were still active, that increased stress had been placed on curative tasks, and that the promoters appeared to have had their greatest impact in the areas of vaccination coverage and increased use of the available public health care service. No significant changes were found in the affected population’s treatment of diarrhea or improvement of drinking water quality.

Dual Practice of Public Sector Health Care Providers in Peru

To explore the extent, characteristics, incentives, effects and possible regulation of private medical practice in public facilities this study undertook a cross sectional quantitative – qualitative analysis. Results from the survey and focus groups reveal that DP is mainly a strategy to obtain better incomes in the face of low public salaries. Furthermore this situation is influenced by the Peruvian macroeconomic environment characterised by an oversupply of doctors caused by the deregulation medical practice and education. DP is common in all types of health facilities and working institutions, and it is closely associated to clinical practices.

On the Front Line of Primary Health Care: The Profile of Community Health Workers in Rural Quechua Communities in Peru

The objective of this study was to describe the profile of community health workers - health promoters, traditional birth attendants and traditional healers - in rural Quechua communities from Ayacucho, Peru.

Provider Selection of Evidence-Based Contraception Guidelines in Service Provision: a Study in India, Peru, and Rwanda

This study evaluated biases in guideline untilization of evidence-based practice concerning contraception perscription. It was found that in India, Peru, and Rwanda, health care providers underutilize evidence-based practice guidelines as they prescribe contraceptives. This article ends with recommendations for providers to most effectively utilize evidence-based practice. [adapted from abstract]

Role of Regulation in Influencing Income-Generating Activities Among Public Sector Doctors in Peru

The objective of this article is to examine in Peru the nature of dual practice (doctors holding two jobs at once - usually public sector doctors with private practices), the factors that influence individuals decisions to undertake dual practice, the conditions faced when doing so and the potential role of regulatory intervention in this area. [from abstract]