Health and society in Amazonian Peru.
During his work in a jungle hospital of the Amazonian part of Peru, the author was able to study the health care delivery system in the area. He was impressed by its inadequacy, which seemed to be due less to medical, technological, and manpower deficiencies than to social and economic factors. An attempt is made to identify and classify these constraints. A systems view of the health care insufficiencies is outlined, showing how some barriers prevent the patient from making contact with the health system (input level), how others interfere with its working (processor level), while others limit the efficiency of its actions (output level). Finally, some measures for its improvement are considered.
D001294:Attitude to Health; D003469:Culture; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D006262:Health; D006296:Health Services; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American; D009313:National Health Programs; D010568:Peru; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors