Browsing by Author "Castillo, Carla"
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Item Assessment of event-triggered policies of nonpharmaceutical interventions based on epidemiological indicators(2021) de Wolff, Taco; Castillo, Carla; Gajardo, Pedro; Lecaros, Rodrigo; Olivar, Gerard; Ramírez, HéctorNonpharmaceutical interventions (NPI) such as banning public events or instituting lockdowns have been widely applied around the world to control the current COVID- 19 pandemic. Typically, this type of intervention is imposed when an epidemiological indicator in a given population exceeds a certain threshold. Then, the nonpharma- ceutical intervention is lifted when the levels of the indicator used have decreased sufficiently. What is the best indicator to use? In this paper, we propose a mathematical framework to try to answer this question. More specifically, the proposed framework permits to assess and compare different event-triggered controls based on epidemio- logical indicators. Our methodology consists of considering some outcomes that are consequences of the nonpharmaceutical interventions that a decision maker aims to make as low as possible. The peak demand for intensive care units (ICU) and the total number of days in lockdown are examples of such outcomes. If an epidemiological indicator is used to trigger the interventions, there is naturally a trade-off between the outcomes that can be seen as a curve parameterized by the trigger threshold to be used. The computation of these curves for a group of indicators then allows the selection of the best indicator the curve of which dominates the curves of the other indicators. This methodology is illustrated with indicators in the context of COVID-19 using deterministic compartmental models in discrete-time, although the framework can be adapted for a larger class of models.Item Estructura y funcionamiento del sistema de salud chileno. Serie de Salud Poblacional N°2(Universidad del Desarrollo, 2019) Aguilera, Ximena; Castillo, Carla; Covarrubias, Trinidad; Delgado, Iris; Fuentes, Rodrigo; Gómez, María Inés; González, Claudia; Hirmas, Macarena; Matute, Isabel; Olea, Andrea; Quiroga, Anita; Urrejola, Oscar; Soto, Marco; Aguilera, Ximena; Castillo, Carla; Covarrubias, Trinidad; Delgado, Iris; Fuentes, Rodrigo; Gómez, María Inés; González, Claudia; Hirmas, Macarena; Matute, Isabel; Olea, Andrea; Quiroga, Anita; Urrejola, Oscar; Soto, MarcoCon este documento ponemos a su disposición la segunda publicación de la serie Salud Poblacional del Centro de Epidemiología y Políticas de Salud, dedicada en esta oportunidad a entregar una visión global sobre la estructura, organización y funcionamiento del sistema de salud chileno, como una herramienta que permita a los estudiantes comprender su estructura, funciones y complejas interrelaciones.Item Evaluation of the effectiveness and equity of the maternity protection reform in Chile from 2000 to 2015(2019) Delgado, Iris; Cabieses, Báltica; Apablaza, Mauricio; Castillo, Carla; Aguilera, Ximena; Matute, Isabel; Najera, Manuel; Pericás, Juan M.; Benach, JoanIntroduction According to the International Labor Organization, Maternity Protection (MP) policies try to harmonize child care and women’s paid work, without affecting family health and economic security. Chile Law 20.545 (2011) increased benefits for economically active women and reduced requirements for accessing these benefits. The goals of the reform included: 1) to increase MP coverage; and 2) to reduce inequities in access to the benefits. Method This study uses two data sources. First, using individual data routinely collected from 2000 to 2015, yearly MP coverage access over time was calculated. Second, using national representative household surveys collected before and after the Law (2009 and 2013), coverage and a set of measures of inequality were estimated. To compare changes over time, we used non-experimental, before-after intervention design for independent samples. For each variable, we estimated comparative proportions at 95% confidence interval before and after the intervention. Additionally, we included multivariate and propensity score analysis. Results Between 2000 and 2015, MP coverage grew from 24.4% to 44.8%. Using comparable 2009 and 2013 survey data, we observed the same trend, with 31.6% of estimated MP coverage in 2009, escalating to 39.5% in 2013. We conclude that: 1) after the reform, there was an increase in MP coverage; and, 2) there was no significant reduction of inequities in the distribution of MP benefits. Discussion/Conclusion Few scientific evaluations of MP reforms have been conducted worldwide; even fewer including an equity analysis. This study provides an empirically-based evaluation of MP reform from both a population-level and an equity-focused perspective. We conclude that this reform needs to be complemented with other policies to ensure maternity protection in terms of access and equity in a country with deep socioeconomic stratification.Item Health insurance scheme performance and effects on health and health inequalities in Chile(Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba, 2017) Castillo, Carla; Aguilera, Ximena; Hirmas, Macarena; Matute, Isabel; Delgado, Iris; Nájera, Manuel; Olea, Andrea; González, ClaudiaINTRODUCTION Health systems are one determinant of health; their role is to facilitate timely and equitable access to quality services. The way in which a health system is organized can profoundly affect achievement of its objectives. The main feature of the Chilean health system is the coexistence of a public health insurance program (based on a social insurance model) with several market-based private health insurance companies. This hybrid structure provides an interesting framework for analyzing and evaluating the system’s effects on health inequalities. OBJECTIVE Assess Chilean public and private health insurance schemes’ performance and its effects on health inequalities. METHODS Public health insurance was compared with private insurance using indicators from 2013 (or the closest year) in the following domains: inputs, outputs (provider visits, discharges), outcomes (coverage) and impact (on health, quality of life, finances and patient satisfaction) as well as demographic and social determinant indicators. A conceptual framework for measuring health system performance was used. Data were obtained from administrative records and population-based surveys. RESULTS The publicly insured population had greater health care needs, was older (aging index 83.4 vs. 36.5) and poorer (17.2% vs. 1.5% below the poverty line) than the population covered by private insurers. The public insurer received average monthly funding of US$50.94 per beneficiary and spent US$51.43, while private insurers on average collected US$94.79 monthly per beneficiary, and spent US$69.63 on health services (excluding medical leave benefits). Private health insurance beneficiaries were more likely than their publicly insured counterparts to access specialized medical services (18.3% vs. 9.3%) and dentists (11.2% vs. 5.9%), have laboratory tests (18.1% vs. 4.8%), and undergo surgery (7.8% vs. 5.9%). Risk factor and disease prevalence was lower among private insurance beneficiaries for 16 of 18 tracer conditions, although age-adjusted differences were not significant. Finally, incidence of catastrophic spending was slightly lower among private insurance beneficiaries (3.7% vs. 4.2%), and a greater proportion of them were satisfied or very satisfied with the health system (37% vs. 17%). CONCLUSIONS The relative youth and better financial status of beneficiaries of private insurers is compatible with selection for lower risk. While private plans offer greater financial protection and receive higher user satisfaction ratings than the public plan, differences in financing between the two types of insurance affect availability and utilization of services. This constitutes a structural problem for the Chilean health system. There is an urgent need to move toward an integrated health system, in which incentives are aligned with social insurance objectives.Publication Immunization and SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Seroprevalence in a Country with High Vaccination Coverage: Lessons from Chile(2022) Aguilera, Ximena; González, Claudia; Apablaza, Mauricio; Rubilar, Paola; Icaza, Gloria; Ramírez, Muriel; Pérez, Claudia; Cortes, Lina; Núñez, Loreto; Quezada, Rubén; Castillo, Carla; Correa, Juan; Said, Macarena; Hormazábal, Juan; Vial, Cecilia; Vial, PabloChile is among the most successful nations worldwide in terms of its COVID-19 vaccine rollout. By 31 December 2021, 84.1% of the population was fully vaccinated, and 56.1% received booster doses using different COVID-19 vaccines. In this context, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies following the infection and vaccination campaign. Using a three-stage stratified sampling, we performed a population-based cross-sectional serosurvey based on a representative sample of three Chilean cities. Selected participants were blood-sampled on-site and answered a short COVID-19 and vaccination history questionnaire using Wantai SARS-CoV-2 Ab ELISA to determine seroprevalence. We recruited 2198 individuals aged 7-93 between 5 October and 25 November 2021; 2132 individuals received COVID-19 vaccinations (97%), 67 (3.1%) received one dose, 2065 (93.9%) received two doses, and 936 received the booster jab (42.6%). Antibody seroprevalence reached 97.3%, ranging from 40.9% among those not vaccinated to 99.8% in those with booster doses (OR = 674.6, 154.8-2938.5). SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were associated with vaccination, previous COVID-19 diagnosis, age group, and city of residence. In contrast, we found no significant differences in the type of vaccine used, education, nationality, or type of health insurance. We found a seroprevalence close to 100%, primarily due to the successful vaccination program, which strongly emphasizes universal access.Item La ruta del medicamento en Chile(2022) Castillo, Carla; Aguilera, Ximena; Matute, Isabel; Aguilera, Ximena; Awad, Camila; Castillo, Carla; González Wiedmaier, Claudia; Hirmas, Macarena; Matute, Isabel; Olea, AndreaRuta del medicamento en Chile: principales actores, instituciones y procesos relacionados con el acceso a medicamentos. El presente documento se propone abordar el acceso a los medicamentos desde una mirada de los procesos, instituciones y actores relacionados, describiendo y analizando el camino que recorren, desde que se producen o importan, hasta su consumo por parte de la población.Item Mental health consequences of long-term stays in refugee camps: preliminary evidence from Moria(2021) Van de Wiel, Willemine; Castillo, Carla; Urzúa, Francisco; Fish, Michelle; Scholte, WillemEver since the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal, most refugees that enter Greece via sea are confined to the island on which they arrive until their asylum claims are adjudicated, where they generally reside in camps. Some of these camps have detention-like characteristics and dire living conditions, such as Moria camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece. Aid-organizations have stated that the situation in camp Moria deteriorates the mental health of its inhabitants and there is qualitative evidence to support this. This study explores the quantitative relationship between the incidence of acute mental health crises and the length of stay in the camp.Item Modelling cost-effectiveness of syphilis detection strategies in prisoners: exploratory exercise in a Chilean male prison(2021) Castillo, Carla; Gajardo, Pedro; Nájera, Manuel; Matute, Isabel; Hirmas, Macarena; Aguirre, Pablo; Ramírez, Héctor; Ramírez, Daniel; Aguilera, XimenaSyphilis, together with other sexually transmitted infections, remains a global public health problem that is far from controlled. People deprived of liberty are a vulnerable population. Control activities in prisons rely mostly on passive case detection, despite the existence of affordable alternatives that would allow switching to active case-finding strategies. Our objective was to develop a mathematical modelling framework for cost-effectiveness evaluation, from a health system perspective, of different approaches using rapid tests for the detection of syphilis in inmates' populations and to explore the results based on a Chilean male prison population.Item Transmission dynamics and control of COVID-19 in Chile, March-October, 2020(2021) Tariq, Amna; Undurraga, Eduardo; Castillo, Carla; Vogt, Katia; Luo, Ruiyan; Rothenberg, Richard; Chowell, GerardoSince the detection of the first case of COVID-19 in Chile on March 3rd, 2020, a total of 513,188 cases, including ~14,302 deaths have been reported in Chile as of November 2nd, 2020. Here, we estimate the reproduction number throughout the epidemic in Chile and study the effectiveness of control interventions especially the effectiveness of lockdowns by conducting short-term forecasts based on the early transmission dynamics of COVID-19. Chile’s incidence curve displays early sub-exponential growth dynamics with the deceleration of growth parameter, p, estimated at 0.8 (95% CI: 0.7, 0.8) and the reproduction number, R, estimated at 1.8 (95% CI: 1.6, 1.9). Our findings indicate that the control measures at the start of the epidemic significantly slowed down the spread of the virus. However, the relaxation of restrictions and spread of the virus in low-income neighborhoods in May led to a new surge of infections, followed by the reimposition of lockdowns in Greater Santiago and other municipalities. These measures have decelerated the virus spread with R estimated at ~0.96 (95% CI: 0.95, 0.98) as of November 2nd, 2020. The early sub-exponential growth trend (p ~0.8) of the COVID-19 epidemic transformed into a linear growth trend (p ~0.5) as of July 7th, 2020, after the reimposition of lockdowns. While the broad scale social distancing interventions have slowed the virus spread, the number of new COVID-19 cases continue to accrue, underscoring the need for persistent social distancing and active case detection and isolation efforts to maintain the epidemic under control.