Formal text 2.0

How can anthropology help to the politics about public health in Chile?

Background:

Chile is a country that since its creation has been characterized by an important number of social inequalities. This problem increases when we talk about public health for the ordinary citizen. Unfortunately, throughout history the general and institutional thought of considering medicine and health as a consumer product has existed, in contrast with the ideal of health as a social right for all people. As a result of this thought, only a reduced part of population in Chile can have a good attention in this area, meanwhile the great majority has to accept a poor and incompetent public health attention with resignation.

In summary, any government throughout history has been able to solve this problem, which is the reason why anthropology has to intervene with the new policies of public health.

Problem:

Despite the modernity and the return of democracy in Chile, a large portion of the Chilean population just does not have enough resources to access to a good health attention. This is a fact, and according with the numbers of the director of the Department of Politic Sciences of the UAH, Ignacio Cienfuegos, close to 60% of population have to resort to the public system.

To illustrate the actual situation, the results the study of “Chile Dice” (elaborated by the University Alberto Hurtado) shows us that a majority of Chilean population sees the public health as a priority problem, despite other problems like education, pensions and economic development.  

Solution:

As a solution, anthropology can start to help with an initial research of the problem, using the resources of the subject, like ethnography at the public hospitals or using statistics methods for have a better comprehension of the situation and finally give an dignified public health to the population of Chile.