Inequalities in health in Latin America and the Caribbean: descriptive and exploratory results for self-reported health problems and health care in twelve countries.

Objective: To explore and describe inequalities in health and use of health care as revealed by self-report in 12 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Methods: A descriptive and exploratory study was performed based on the responses to questions on health and health care utilization that were included in general purpose household surveys. Inequalities are described by quintile of household expenditures (or income) per capita, sex, age group (children, adults, and older adults), and place of residence (urban vs.