The challenges of insularity for health systems
Abstract
The article analyzes the particularities of health systems of Small Island Developing States, also known as island countries, highlighting their geographical isolation, territorial fragmentation and climate vulnerability
as determinants of the specificities of their health systems. The text identifies key challenges of insular health systems: training and retention of specialized human resources in remote locations, scarce financial resources that limit access to medical equipment and medicines, high number of medical travels, and construction and maintenance of medical infrastructures and technologies in small and isolated territories. Finally, solutions implemented by the Portuguese-speaking countries to address the difficulties of access to health care imposed by insularity are presented, highlighting telemedicine and hiring of specialized human resources as potential strategies to achieve Universal Health Coverage.
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References
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