Abstract
This essay examines health security and insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region from a systemic perspective. It concentrates on the concepts of health system and health regime, derived from the contributions of numerous disciplines. Focusing on the notions of living conditions, risk, vulnerability, insecurity, quality of life, coverage, and accessibility, the paper analyses the relationships between the processes of generation and allocation of health (and health risks) and the historical and structural circumstances affecting health. Five analytically interrelated clusters of variables are discussed: (a) the economic, social, and political contexts of health (and their trends) in the LAC region; (b) the cultures and ideologies of health; (c) the delivery structures, both institutional and otherwise, which make up the actually-existing health regime; (d) the policies and processes of health generation and distribution (as well as its accessibility); and (e) the effects or consequences of the aforementioned policies and processes upon the region’s health and its circumstances.
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