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. 2020 Aug 6:44:e77.
doi: 10.26633/RPSP.2020.77. eCollection 2020.

Exploring social innovation in health in Central America and the Caribbean

Josselyn Mothe  1 , Luis E Vacaflor  2 , Diana M Castro-Arroyave  2 , Luis Gabriel Cuervo  1 , Nancy Gore Saravia  2
Affiliations

Exploring social innovation in health in Central America and the Caribbean

Josselyn Mothe et al. Rev Panam Salud Publica. .

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Universal health coverage is a public health priority in the Americas. Social innovation in health offers novel solutions to unmet needs, by enabling health care delivery to be more inclusive, affordable, and effective. In 2017, an international collaborative consortium launched an open call for solutions that sought to identify social innovations in health in Central America and the Caribbean. The focus was set on how these solutions can strengthen health care delivery, with emphasis on reducing the impact of neglected transmissible diseases. A crowdsourcing strategy was implemented to identify social innovations in health. These were evaluated by an external panel of experts and practitioners and civil society representing the health and social innovation sectors, based on the appropriateness, innovativeness, and affordability of the solution. The three top-scoring solutions were analyzed through case studies including site visits by a team of investigators. Two key findings emerged from the response to the call: 1) innovative solutions were based on the knowledge and experience of individuals and communities facing adverse situations; 2) this knowledge was shared through health promotion and education, leading to empowerment of the communities. The principal challenges addressed by the solutions were the limited access to quality health care services and failed traditional strategies for vector control. The solutions identified demonstrated how social innovation can strengthen health systems by delivering novel solutions to health needs and articulating communities to enable them to work hand-in-hand with the health system toward universal health.

La cobertura universal de salud es una prioridad de salud pública en la Región de las Américas. La innovación social en materia de salud ofrece soluciones novedosas a las necesidades insatisfechas, al permitir que la prestación de servicios de salud sea más inclusiva, asequible y eficaz. En 2017, un consorcio de colaboración internacional lanzó una convocatoria abierta de soluciones con el fin de identificar innovaciones sociales en materia de salud en América Central y el Caribe. Esta se centró en la forma en que esas soluciones pueden fortalecer la prestación de atención sanitaria, con énfasis en la reducción de los efectos de las enfermedades transmisibles desatendidas. Para identificar las innovaciones sociales en materia de salud se aplicó una estrategia de colaboración masiva (crowdsourcing). Las propuestas fueron evaluadas por un grupo externo conformado por expertos, profesionales y la sociedad civil que representaban a los sectores de la salud y la innovación social, sobre la base de la idoneidad, la capacidad de innovación y la asequibilidad de la solución. Se analizaron las tres soluciones mejor calificadas mediante estudios de casos que incluyeron visitas al lugar por parte de un equipo de investigadores. De la respuesta a la convocatoria surgieron dos conclusiones clave: 1) las soluciones innovadoras se basaron en el conocimiento y la experiencia de las personas y las comunidades que se enfrentaban a situaciones adversas, y 2) este conocimiento se compartió a través de actividades de promoción de la salud y educación, lo que condujo al empoderamiento de las comunidades. Los principales problemas que abordaron las soluciones fueron el acceso limitado a servicios de atención sanitaria de calidad y el fracaso de las estrategias tradicionales de control de vectores. Las soluciones identificadas demostraron cómo la innovación social puede fortalecer los sistemas de salud proporcionando soluciones novedosas a las necesidades de salud y apoyando a las comunidades para que puedan colaborar estrechamente con el sistema de salud hacia la salud universal.

Keywords: Caribbean region; Central America; Neglected diseases; delivery of health care; social participation.

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