The purpose of this paper is to present a scholarly review of health disparities that exist in the country of Brazil. Before proceeding with such a discussion it is imperative that the reader clearly understand the definition of health disparities as well as briefly review the Brazilian healthcare system.
Briefly, health disparities can be defined as differences identified in unique population groups based on varying parameters which include occurrence of disease, response to disease treatment and access to health care services. Differences within these populations, as well as the listed parameters, can be based on metrics such as age, race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and social economic status.
What is clearly apparent from the previous paragraph is that meaningful analysis in the
…show more content…
As pointed out in a review of Brazilian healthcare by Paim, Jairnilson, et al. in the British medical journal Lancet there are still significant inequalities in Brazil in terms of mobility and mortality when analyzed by geography and race. (3) Paim points out that the infant mortality is approximately 2 ¼ times higher in the Northeast versus the Southern region of Brazil. Furthermore, individuals who report their skin color as brown or black have inequalities in certain health outcomes in recognition and treatment of chronic disorders like hypertension. Additionally, as pointed out in the 2012 journal publication by Macinko & Lima-Costa health disparities exist due to governmental healthcare spending. (4) While the Brazilian government investment in its universal healthcare system is 45%, this number represents approximately 4% of the nation’s GDP which is much lower than other countries with universal health