Navigating the divide: inequalities in household experiences of healthcare disruption in Latin American and the Caribbean countries amidst COVID-19.

Background: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is among the most unequal regions in the world in terms of wealth and household income. Such inequalities have been shown to influence different outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the disruption of routine health services. The aim of this paper is to examine socioeconomic inequalities in household experiences of healthcare disruption in LAC countries from mid-2020 to late 2021.

Healthcare service disruption in 14 Latin American and Caribbean countries during the COVID-19 pandemic: Analysis of household phone surveys, 2020-2021.

Background: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic) and associated responses have significantly disrupted healthcare. We aimed to estimate the magnitude of and reasons for households reporting healthcare disruption in 14 Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region countries from mid-2020 to mid-2021, and its relationship with country contextual factors.

Methods: We used COVID-19 high-frequency phone surveys (HFPS) conducted in 14 LAC countries in three rounds in 2020 and one in 2021.