Daniel Gerardo Fernández-Ávila1, Daniela Patino-Hernandez2, Sergio Kowalskii3, Alfredo Vargas-Caselles4, Ana Maria Sapag5, Antonio Cachafeiro-Vilar6, Lucia Meléndez-Muñoz7, Carlos Santiago-Pastelín8, Cesar Graf9, Chayanne Rossetto10, Daniel Palleiro11, Daniela Trincado12, Diana Fernández-Ávila4, Dina Arrieta13, Gil Reyes14, Jossiel Then Baez15, Manuel F Ugarte-Gil16, Mario Cardiel17, Nelly Colman18, Nilmo Chávez19, Paula I Burgos20, Ruben Montúfar21, Sayonara Sandino22, Yurilis Fuentes-Silva23, Enrique R Soriano24. 1. Unidad de Reumatología, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio - Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Unidad de Investigación PANLAR, Cra 7 # 40-62, Bogotá, Colombia. Daniel.fernandez@javeriana.edu.co. 2. Departamento de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio - Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia. 3. Universidade Federal do Paraná, Unidad de Inivestigación PANLAR, Paraná, Brazil. 4. Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 5. Hospital Universitario Japonés, Santa Cruz, Bolivia. 6. Pacífica Salud - Hospital Punta Pacífica, Panama City, Panamá. 7. Hospital de la Policía Nacional N1 Quito, Quito, Ecuador. 8. Instituto Hondureño de Seguridad Social, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 9. Sociedad Argentina de Reumatología, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 10. Universidade Federal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil. 11. Instituto Nacional de Reumatología del Uruguay - Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay. 12. Departamento de Inmunología Clínica y Reumatología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago de Chile, Chile. 13. Hospital México, Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social, San José de Costa Rica, Costa Rica. 14. Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana, La Habana, Cuba. 15. Hospital Metropolitano de Santiago, Santiago, Dominican Republic. 16. Universidad Científica del Sur - Hospital Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen, Lima, Peru. 17. Centro de Investigación Clínica de Morelia, Morelia, Mexico. 18. Hospital de Clínicas - Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Asunción, Paraguay. 19. Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala - Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala. 20. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Dto de Inmunologia Clínica y Reumatología, Santiago de Chile, Chile. 21. Consultorio de Especialidades del Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro Social, San Salvador, El Salvador. 22. Instituto Médico GANNA, Managua, Nicaragua. 23. Universidad de Oriente, Cumaná, Venezuela. 24. Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires PANLAR, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Studies conducted by various scientific societies have shown that the demand for specialized rheumatology care is greater than the projected growth of the workforce. Our research aims to assess the current status of the rheumatology workforce in Latin America. METHOD: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study. A survey was created on the RedCap platform. Data were analyzed with STATA 15® Software. We present descriptive analyses. The rate of inhabitants per rheumatologist was calculated using the number of rheumatologists practicing in each country and the inhabitants for year 2020. RESULTS: Our sample was composed by 19 PANLAR member countries in Latin America. Latin America has one rheumatologist per 106,838 inhabitants. The highest rate of rheumatologist per inhabitants was found in Uruguay (1 per 27,426 inhabitants), and the lowest was found in Nicaragua (1 per 640,648 inhabitants). Mean age was 51.59 (SD12.70), ranging between 28 and 96 years of age. Mean monthly compensation was USD $2382.6 (SD$1462.5). The country with lowest salary was Venezuela ($197), whereas the highest was Costa Rica ($4500). CONCLUSIONS: There is a high variability in rheumatologists' workforce characteristics in Latin America. These results could lead to policies aiming to increase the availability and income of rheumatologists, in order to increase opportunity and quality of care of patients living with rheumatic diseases. Key Points • The rheumatologists' workforce varies significantly among Latin American countries. • The supply of rheumatologists is insufficient for meeting the increasing need for specialists in this field.
INTRODUCTION: Studies conducted by various scientific societies have shown that the demand for specialized rheumatology care is greater than the projected growth of the workforce. Our research aims to assess the current status of the rheumatology workforce in Latin America. METHOD: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study. A survey was created on the RedCap platform. Data were analyzed with STATA 15® Software. We present descriptive analyses. The rate of inhabitants per rheumatologist was calculated using the number of rheumatologists practicing in each country and the inhabitants for year 2020. RESULTS: Our sample was composed by 19 PANLAR member countries in Latin America. Latin America has one rheumatologist per 106,838 inhabitants. The highest rate of rheumatologist per inhabitants was found in Uruguay (1 per 27,426 inhabitants), and the lowest was found in Nicaragua (1 per 640,648 inhabitants). Mean age was 51.59 (SD12.70), ranging between 28 and 96 years of age. Mean monthly compensation was USD $2382.6 (SD$1462.5). The country with lowest salary was Venezuela ($197), whereas the highest was Costa Rica ($4500). CONCLUSIONS: There is a high variability in rheumatologists' workforce characteristics in Latin America. These results could lead to policies aiming to increase the availability and income of rheumatologists, in order to increase opportunity and quality of care of patients living with rheumatic diseases. Key Points • The rheumatologists' workforce varies significantly among Latin American countries. • The supply of rheumatologists is insufficient for meeting the increasing need for specialists in this field.
Entities:
Keywords:
Epidemiology; Latin America; Rheumatology; Workforce
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