1. LOCATION OF THE HEALTH CARE DELIVERY UNITS.
- Author
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Bucatinsky, Julio
- Subjects
HEALTH facilities ,INFANT mortality ,DEATH rate ,AMBULANCE service ,EMERGENCY medical services - Abstract
This article presents information on a project to install MAC health service delivery structure in Colombia. The health situation in Colombia is characterized by problems found in both a developing country and a developed nation. Infant mortality is still relatively high, and preventable diseases such as polio and measles still have an unacceptable death rate. The government of Colombia has estimated that at least 36% of the population has either no access or poor access to any health services with facilities concentrated in urban areas. The National Plan of Health of Colombia includes provision of health services to that 36%. The basic unit of local coverage, the MAC, consists of a health outpost, its staff, and six promoters. The MAC services approximately 6000 people in a dispersed, rural area. The health promoters are usually women chosen by the local health professionals and the members of her community to receive about ten weeks of training. Some MAC units will also have an ambulance vehicle to provide emergency evacuation and to serve as a means of transport of supplies and supervisory personnel on their rounds.
- Published
- 1977