Walter Flores
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 6324295 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Walter Flores |
| PRENOMES | Walter |
| SOBRENOME | Flores |
| ASSINATURA | FLORES W |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Center for the Study of Equity and Governance in Health Systems |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4600-0685 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 15 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 21 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 15 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2009 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2024 |
| ÍNDICE H | 2 |
Indigenous-led struggles for health justice in the context of the climate emergency
This practice paper reflects on an ongoing Participatory Action Research project that combines community-engaged methods, national data analysis and advocacy to support community-based emergency response to extreme weather events in 16 Indigenous communities in Alta Verapaz province, Guatemala. Our work points to a worrying predicament experienced in climate-affected areas, where some populations face a dangerous confluence of climate vulnerabili…
The politics of health systems policies during Covid-19
Politics as the exercise of power always influence public policies-which reflects the multifaceted nature of decision-making-but "using politics" as a motivation for self-serving interests of government leaders and their allies poses problems. This article reviews the impacts of COVID-19 on health systems of the Latin American and Caribbean region from a political lens. We highlight the overriding influence of politics in health policies, weak go…
Reach and effectiveness of a HEARTS hypertension pilot project in Guatemala
The World Health Organization Global Hearts initiative (HEARTS) and technical package aim to improve the primary health care management of hypertension and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease at the population level. This study describes the first HEARTS implementation pilot project in Guatemala's Ministry of Health (MOH) primary health care system. This pilot began in April 2022 in six primary health care facilities in three rural indi…
‘History obligates us to do it’
Growing interest in how marginalised citizens can leverage countervailing power to make health systems more inclusive and equitable points to the need for politicised frameworks for examining bottom-up accountability initiatives. This study explores how political capabilities are manifested in the actions and strategies of Indigenous grassroots leaders of health accountability initiatives in rural Guatemala. Qualitative data were gathered through…
Challenges with pediatric surgical financing and universal health coverage in Guatemala
The financing of surgical care for children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains challenging and may restrict adherence to universal health coverage (UHC) frameworks. Our aims were to describe Guatemala’s national pediatric surgical financing structure, to identify financing challenges, and to develop recommendations to improve the financing of surgical care for children. We conducted a qualitative study of the financing of surgica…
Youth-Led Anti-Corruption Movement in Post-Conflict Guatemala
This article examines youth-led anti-corruption protests in Guatemala in 2015, which contributed to the resignation of the president and vice-president. It outlines three key factors that were part of the initial success of the #RenunciaYa social media campaign, and the subsequent struggle towards political and structural reforms. First, it can be regarded as part of a much longer history of rights-led civic engagement and protest. Second, while …
Using information communication technology to identify deficits in rural health care
BACKGROUND: In August 2014, the Centre for the Studies of Equity and Governance in Health Systems (CEGSS) in Guatemala launched an online platform, which facilitates complaints about health services via text messages. The aim is to collect, systemise and forward such complaints to relevant institutions, and to create a data pool on perceived deficits of health care in rural Guatemala. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if the online platform is an accepted, …
Pathways to accountability in rural Guatemala
Strengthening citizen-led accountability initiatives is a critical rights-based strategy for improving health services for indigenous and other marginalized populations. As these initiatives have gained prominence in health and other sectors, there is great interest in how they operate and what makes them effective. Scholarly focus is shifting from measuring the efficacy of their tools and tactics to deepening understanding of the context-sensiti…
Best Resources on Power in Health Policy and Systems in Low- And Middle-Income Countries
Power is a critical concept to understand and transform health policy and systems. Power manifests implicitly or explicitly at multiple levels-local, national and global-and is present at each actor interface, therefore shaping all actions, processes and outcomes. Analysing and engaging with power has important potential for improving our understanding of the underlying causes of inequity, and our ability to promote transparency, accountability a…
Health Accountability for Indigenous Populations
Health-care providers are powerful figures in society. An informed service user may be able to identify regulatory non-compliance and abuses by these actors, but reporting them is not a mere administrative procedure. It is an act that stirs existing power relations and social hierarchies. This article argues that the essence of an accountability intervention is the process through which service users collect and analyse evidence that is then used…
Providers’ perspectives on inbound medical tourism in Central America and the Caribbean
BACKGROUND: Many governments and health care providers worldwide are enthusiastic to develop medical tourism as a service export. Despite the popularity of this policy uptake, there is relatively little known about the specific local factors prospectively motivating and informing development of this sector. OBJECTIVE: To identify common social, economic, and health system factors shaping the development of medical tourism in three Central America…
Abuse and discrimination towards indigenous people in public health care facilities
Addressing mistreatment in public health settings will involve tackling the prevalent forms of discrimination, including racism. This will likely require profound, complex and sustained interventions at the programmatic and policy levels beyond the strict realm of public health services. Future studies should assess the magnitude of the occurrence of episodes of maltreatment and racism within indigenous areas and also explore the providers' perce…
Making the post-MDG global health goals relevant for highly inequitable societies
The United Nations presented a set of Millennium Development Goals that aimed to improve social and economic development and eradicate poverty by 2015. Most low and middle-income countries will not meet these goals and today there is a need to set new development agenda, especially when it comes to health. The paper presents the findings from a community consultation process carried out within the Goals and Governance for Global Health (GO4Health…
Health Systems Global, the new international society for health systems research
A few underlying facts drove the decision to create a new society for health systems research (HSR). More research is needed to address the reasons for health system weaknesses and the ways and means of improving performance. Further, an increasing number of researchers are focusing their work on health systems research and while there is now substantial research ongoing in this area, there is no regular forum to share findings, methodologies and…
Social Participation within a Context of Political Violence
Social participation has been understood in many different ways, and there are even typologies classifying participation by the degree of a population's control in decision making. Participation can vary from a symbolic act, which does not involve decision making, to processes in which it constitutes the principal tool for redistributing power within a population. This article argues that analyzing social participation from a perspective of power…
Best Resources on Power in Health Policy and Systems in Low- And Middle-Income Countries
Power is a critical concept to understand and transform health policy and systems. Power manifests implicitly or explicitly at multiple levels-local, national and global-and is present at each actor interface, therefore shaping all actions, processes and outcomes. Analysing and engaging with power has important potential for improving our understanding of the underlying causes of inequity, and our ability to promote transparency, accountability a…
Social Participation within a Context of Political Violence
Social participation has been understood in many different ways, and there are even typologies classifying participation by the degree of a population's control in decision making. Participation can vary from a symbolic act, which does not involve decision making, to processes in which it constitutes the principal tool for redistributing power within a population. This article argues that analyzing social participation from a perspective of power…
Pathways to accountability in rural Guatemala
Strengthening citizen-led accountability initiatives is a critical rights-based strategy for improving health services for indigenous and other marginalized populations. As these initiatives have gained prominence in health and other sectors, there is great interest in how they operate and what makes them effective. Scholarly focus is shifting from measuring the efficacy of their tools and tactics to deepening understanding of the context-sensiti…
Health Systems Global, the new international society for health systems research
A few underlying facts drove the decision to create a new society for health systems research (HSR). More research is needed to address the reasons for health system weaknesses and the ways and means of improving performance. Further, an increasing number of researchers are focusing their work on health systems research and while there is now substantial research ongoing in this area, there is no regular forum to share findings, methodologies and…
Social Participation within a Context of Political Violence
Social participation has been understood in many different ways, and there are even typologies classifying participation by the degree of a population's control in decision making. Participation can vary from a symbolic act, which does not involve decision making, to processes in which it constitutes the principal tool for redistributing power within a population. This article argues that analyzing social participation from a perspective of power…
Health Systems Global, the new international society for health systems research
A few underlying facts drove the decision to create a new society for health systems research (HSR). More research is needed to address the reasons for health system weaknesses and the ways and means of improving performance. Further, an increasing number of researchers are focusing their work on health systems research and while there is now substantial research ongoing in this area, there is no regular forum to share findings, methodologies and…
Making the post-MDG global health goals relevant for highly inequitable societies
The United Nations presented a set of Millennium Development Goals that aimed to improve social and economic development and eradicate poverty by 2015. Most low and middle-income countries will not meet these goals and today there is a need to set new development agenda, especially when it comes to health. The paper presents the findings from a community consultation process carried out within the Goals and Governance for Global Health (GO4Health…
Providers’ perspectives on inbound medical tourism in Central America and the Caribbean
BACKGROUND: Many governments and health care providers worldwide are enthusiastic to develop medical tourism as a service export. Despite the popularity of this policy uptake, there is relatively little known about the specific local factors prospectively motivating and informing development of this sector. OBJECTIVE: To identify common social, economic, and health system factors shaping the development of medical tourism in three Central America…
Abuse and discrimination towards indigenous people in public health care facilities
Addressing mistreatment in public health settings will involve tackling the prevalent forms of discrimination, including racism. This will likely require profound, complex and sustained interventions at the programmatic and policy levels beyond the strict realm of public health services. Future studies should assess the magnitude of the occurrence of episodes of maltreatment and racism within indigenous areas and also explore the providers' perce…
Using information communication technology to identify deficits in rural health care
BACKGROUND: In August 2014, the Centre for the Studies of Equity and Governance in Health Systems (CEGSS) in Guatemala launched an online platform, which facilitates complaints about health services via text messages. The aim is to collect, systemise and forward such complaints to relevant institutions, and to create a data pool on perceived deficits of health care in rural Guatemala. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if the online platform is an accepted, …
Pathways to accountability in rural Guatemala
Strengthening citizen-led accountability initiatives is a critical rights-based strategy for improving health services for indigenous and other marginalized populations. As these initiatives have gained prominence in health and other sectors, there is great interest in how they operate and what makes them effective. Scholarly focus is shifting from measuring the efficacy of their tools and tactics to deepening understanding of the context-sensiti…
Best Resources on Power in Health Policy and Systems in Low- And Middle-Income Countries
Power is a critical concept to understand and transform health policy and systems. Power manifests implicitly or explicitly at multiple levels-local, national and global-and is present at each actor interface, therefore shaping all actions, processes and outcomes. Analysing and engaging with power has important potential for improving our understanding of the underlying causes of inequity, and our ability to promote transparency, accountability a…
Health Accountability for Indigenous Populations
Health-care providers are powerful figures in society. An informed service user may be able to identify regulatory non-compliance and abuses by these actors, but reporting them is not a mere administrative procedure. It is an act that stirs existing power relations and social hierarchies. This article argues that the essence of an accountability intervention is the process through which service users collect and analyse evidence that is then used…
Youth-Led Anti-Corruption Movement in Post-Conflict Guatemala
This article examines youth-led anti-corruption protests in Guatemala in 2015, which contributed to the resignation of the president and vice-president. It outlines three key factors that were part of the initial success of the #RenunciaYa social media campaign, and the subsequent struggle towards political and structural reforms. First, it can be regarded as part of a much longer history of rights-led civic engagement and protest. Second, while …
‘History obligates us to do it’
Growing interest in how marginalised citizens can leverage countervailing power to make health systems more inclusive and equitable points to the need for politicised frameworks for examining bottom-up accountability initiatives. This study explores how political capabilities are manifested in the actions and strategies of Indigenous grassroots leaders of health accountability initiatives in rural Guatemala. Qualitative data were gathered through…
Challenges with pediatric surgical financing and universal health coverage in Guatemala
The financing of surgical care for children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains challenging and may restrict adherence to universal health coverage (UHC) frameworks. Our aims were to describe Guatemala’s national pediatric surgical financing structure, to identify financing challenges, and to develop recommendations to improve the financing of surgical care for children. We conducted a qualitative study of the financing of surgica…
Indigenous-led struggles for health justice in the context of the climate emergency
This practice paper reflects on an ongoing Participatory Action Research project that combines community-engaged methods, national data analysis and advocacy to support community-based emergency response to extreme weather events in 16 Indigenous communities in Alta Verapaz province, Guatemala. Our work points to a worrying predicament experienced in climate-affected areas, where some populations face a dangerous confluence of climate vulnerabili…
The politics of health systems policies during Covid-19
Politics as the exercise of power always influence public policies-which reflects the multifaceted nature of decision-making-but "using politics" as a motivation for self-serving interests of government leaders and their allies poses problems. This article reviews the impacts of COVID-19 on health systems of the Latin American and Caribbean region from a political lens. We highlight the overriding influence of politics in health policies, weak go…
Reach and effectiveness of a HEARTS hypertension pilot project in Guatemala
The World Health Organization Global Hearts initiative (HEARTS) and technical package aim to improve the primary health care management of hypertension and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease at the population level. This study describes the first HEARTS implementation pilot project in Guatemala's Ministry of Health (MOH) primary health care system. This pilot began in April 2022 in six primary health care facilities in three rural indi…
Political science (13 obras) · Economic growth (8 obras) · Sociology (8 obras) · Global Maternal and Child Health (6 obras) · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology (6 obras) · Health care (6 obras) · Law (6 obras) · Medicine (6 obras) · Public relations (6 obras) · Accountability (5 obras)