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Antecedentes y objetivos: La carga de enfermedad y los costos asociados al consumo de alcohol son un problema de salud pública. Formas eficaces de combatir este problema son la detección individual y la consejería breve. El objetivo de este estudio es estimar y describir la cobertura nacional de consulta sobre consumo de alcohol (CCA) dirigida por profesionales de salud en Chile. Métodos: Se incluyó una muestra nacional aleatoria de 5240 participantes de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud de Chile 2017. Las estimaciones fueron ponderadas según diferencias en la probabilidad de selección y las tasas de falta de respuesta. Se realizaron regresiones logísticas univariadas por edad, sexo, zona y región, ajustadas por confundentes. Resultados: La prevalencia nacional de CCA fue de 30 % (IC 95 %: 27,8-32,5), 31,6 % (IC 95 %: 28,1-35,3) y 28,8 % (IC 95%: 25,7-31,9) para hombres y mujeres respectivamente. La prevalencia más baja fue en participantes de 15 a 24 años (25,1%, IC 95%: 19,8-31,1) y la más alta (33%, IC 95%: 29,5-37,3) en la población de 45 a 64 años. En los modelos de regresión, la edad (OR: 1,06, IC 95% 1,00-1,11, por diez años de aumento en la edad) y el uso de drogas hepatotóxicas (OR: 1,45, IC 95%: 1,10-1,90), fueron las únicas variables que se asociaron significativamente con mayor CCA. Conclusión: Este estudio encontró bajos porcentajes de CCA en Chile. Hace falta estudiar a mayor profundidad esta problemática para la mejoría o generación de nuevas políticas.

Abstract COVID-19 has prompted the use of readily available administrative data to track health system performance in times of crisis and to monitor disruptions in essential healthcare services. In this commentary we describe our experience working with these data and lessons learned across countries. Since April 2020, the Quality Evidence for Health System Transformation (QuEST) network has used administrative data and routine health information systems (RHIS) to assess health system performance during COVID-19 in Chile, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mexico, Nepal, South Africa, Republic of Korea and Thailand. We compiled a large set of indicators related to common health conditions for the purpose of multicountry comparisons. The study compiled 73 indicators. A total of 43% of the indicators compiled pertained to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH). Only 12% of the indicators were related to hypertension, diabetes or cancer care. We also found few indicators related to mental health services and outcomes within these data systems. Moreover, 72% of the indicators compiled were related to volume of services delivered, 18% to health outcomes and only 10% to the quality of processes of care. While several datasets were complete or near-complete censuses of all health facilities in the country, others excluded some facility types or population groups. In some countries, RHIS did not capture services delivered through non-visit or nonconventional care during COVID-19, such as telemedicine. We propose the following recommendations to improve the analysis of administrative and RHIS data to track health system performance in times of crisis: ensure the scope of health conditions covered is aligned with the burden of disease, increase the number of indicators related to quality of care and health outcomes; incorporate data on nonconventional care such as telehealth; continue improving data quality and expand reporting from private sector facilities; move towards collecting patient-level data through electronic health records to facilitate quality-of-care assessment and equity analyses; implement more resilient and standardized health information technologies; reduce delays and loosen restrictions for researchers to access the data; complement routine data with patient-reported data; and employ mixed methods to better understand the underlying causes of service disruptions.

Abstract Background Diabetes is associated to a high financial and disease burden, explaining a large proportion of expenditure of the health system in one year. The purpose of this study was to estimate long-term costs and health outcomes of recently diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes in Chile. Methods Cost and consequence study based on mathematical discrete event simulation (DES) model. We modelled expected costs (USD) and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) from diagnosis to death (or the age of 95) of a hypothetical cohort of 100,000 incident cases, simulated based on the Chilean National Health Survey 2018. The incidence of twelve complications was estimated assuming the hazard functions provided by the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study. We explore heterogeneity across patients based on their baseline risk covariates and their impact on costs and QALYs. Results The expected cost and QALY of a recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes patient in Chile were USD 8660 and 12.44 QALYs. Both costs and QALYs were independently determined by baseline risk and the patient's life expectancy from the diagnosis. Length of life since diagnosis showed the major impact on costs (5.2% increase for every additional year). Myocardial infarction was the most frequent complication (47.4%) and the most frequent cause of death. Conclusion Diabetes type 2 determines a significant expenditure of the health system and substantial health losses. Although the control of cardiovascular risk factors and the metabolic control of the disease, both have an important impact on costs and outcomes, the main impact is achieved by postponing the age of onset of the disease.

Introducción: el apoyo al automanejo, la participación y retroalimentación son centrales en la implementación de una atención centrada en el usuario en el marco del modelo de cuidados crónicos. Esto ha demostrado mejorar diversos resultados sanitarios. Objetivo: estimar el grado de participación de los pacientes hipertensos y diabéticos, en las decisiones sobre su plan de tratamiento en población adulta chilena. Métodos: análisis secundario de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud (ENS) 2016-2017, muestra aleatoria estratificada de hogares, multietápica por conglomerados, representativa de la población adulta chilena. Se incluyó población mayor de 15 años hipertensa o diabética bajo tratamiento. Se describen las prevalencias expandidas de la variable percepción de participación en la toma de decisiones sobre plan terapéutico en escala Likert de 5 niveles, según edad, sexo, zona urbana/rural y nivel educacional. Se utilizó regresión logística y OR ajustados. Resultados: el 72,3% de los diabéticos y el 71,9% de los hipertensos, refieren “nunca” haber sido consultados al preparar su plan de tratamiento. En la población hipertensa, existe una percepción de participación significativamente más baja en mujeres que en hombres (OR ajustado por edad = 0,5 (IC 95% de 0,3-0,8) no se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas según edad, ruralidad ni nivel educacional. Conclusiones: la población hipertensa y diabética percibe bajos niveles de participación en el diseño de su plan terapéutico y los resultados sugieren inequidad de género en hipertensos. Este estudio permitirá evaluar futuras políticas y modificaciones al modelo de cuidados crónicos en el sistema de salud chileno.

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To expose visibility of the health concerns of sexual and gender minority groups in Chile, as well as to provide a platform to advocate for policies that support the health and well-being of sexual and gender minority people in the country. METHODS The health conditions and risk factors of participants identified as sexual and gender minority were compared to those identified as cisgender heterosexual using data from the 2016-2017 National Health Survey. RESULTS Despite reporting higher self-rated health than heterosexual men, gay men had a higher risk of lifetime diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections. Compared to heterosexual women, the prevalence of depression was higher among bisexual women, who were also less likely to have been tested for HIV. Moreover, transgender participants were more likely to report depression and worse self-rated health than cisgender heterosexual participants. CONCLUSION Small sample sizes of sexual and gender minority subgroups might have obscured some differences that would have been observable in larger samples. Despite this, we found statistically significant sexual and/or gender identity differences in several health areas, especially mental, sexual, and overall health.

Abstract Background Disruptions in essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic have been reported in several countries. Yet, patterns in health service disruption according to country responses remain unclear. In this paper, we investigate associations between the stringency of COVID-19 containment policies and disruptions in 31 health services in 10 low- middle- and high-income countries in 2020. Methods Using routine health information systems and administrative data from 10 countries (Chile, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mexico, Nepal, South Africa, South Korea, and Thailand) we estimated health service disruptions for the period of April to December 2020 by dividing monthly service provision at national levels by the average service provision in the 15 months pre-COVID (January 2019-March 2020). We used the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) index and multi-level linear regression analyses to assess associations between the stringency of restrictions and health service disruptions over nine months. We extended the analysis by examining associations between 11 individual containment or closure policies and health service disruptions. Models were adjusted for COVID caseload, health service category and country GDP and included robust standard errors. Findings Chronic disease care was among the most affected services. Regression analyses revealed that a 10% increase in the mean stringency index was associated with a 3.3 percentage-point (95% CI -3.9, -2.7) reduction in relative service volumes. Among individual policies, curfews, and the presence of a state of emergency, had the largest coefficients and were associated with 14.1 (95% CI -19.6, 8.7) and 10.7 (95% CI -12.7, -8.7) percentage-point lower relative service volumes, respectively. In contrast, number of COVID-19 cases in 2020 was not associated with health service disruptions in any model. Conclusions Although containment policies were crucial in reducing COVID-19 mortality in many contexts, it is important to consider the indirect effects of these restrictions. Strategies to improve the resilience of health systems should be designed to ensure that populations can continue accessing essential health care despite the presence of containment policies during future infectious disease outbreaks.

Abstract Background Trend data on hypertension prevalence and attainment indicators at each step of the care cascade (awareness, treatment, control) are required in Chile. This study aims to quantify trends (2003–2017) in prevalence and in the proportion of individuals with hypertension attaining each step of the care cascade among adults aged 17 years or older, and to assess the impact of lowering the blood pressure (BP) thresholds used to define elevated BP on these indicators. Methods We used data from 2003, 2010, and 2017 Chilean national health surveys. Each year we assessed levels of (1) mean systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, (2) hypertension prevalence (BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg or use of antihypertensive treatment), and (3) awareness, treatment, and control. Logistic regression on pooled data was used to assess trends in binary outcomes; linear regression was used to assess trends in continuous SBP and DBP. We compared levels of hypertension prevalence using two sources to ascertain antihypertensive treatment (self-reported versus medicine inventory). The 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines were used to re-define hypertension using lower thresholds (BP ≥ 130/80 mmHg). Results Hypertension prevalence was 34.0, 32.0 and 30.8% in 2003, 2010 and 2017, respectively. Levels of treated- and controlled-hypertension were significantly higher in 2017 than in 2003 (65% versus 41% for treatment, P