Book Description

?This academic but passionate and controversial work should be read by specialists on Mexico and Latin America, as well as by those interested in healthcare and social policy in general.??Carmelo Mesa-Lago, University of PittsburghHas Mexico, twenty years after beginning the process of decentralizing its health system, realized the anticipated benefits of increased community participation and improvements in efficiency and quality? Addressing this question, Decentralizing Health Services in Mexico presents a thorough historical and theoretical grounding, as well as representative case studies of decentralization at the state and local levels.The authors combine qualitative and quantitative data in their examination of the transfer of authority over fiscal, human, and physical resources in the health sector. The result is a major contribution to the ongoing debate over the advantages and disadvantages of decentralization in varying political, cultural, and economic contexts.Nuria Homedes is associate professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health-Houston. Antonio Ugalde is emeritus professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin. CONTENTS: Decentralization: Theory and History. Decentralization: The Long Road from Theory to Practice?the Editors. Decentralization of Health Services in Mexico: A Historical Review?the Editors. The First Attempt, 1983-1988. Decentralizing Health Services: Formulation, Implementaion, and Results?M. Gonzalez-Block, R. Leyva, O. Zapta, R. Loewe, and J. Alagon. Federalist Flirtations: The Politics and Execution of Health Services Decentralization for the Uninsured in Mexico, 1985-1995?A.-E. Birn. Trying Again, 1994-2004: Case Studies from Five States. ?Decentralized? in Quotes: Baja California Sur, 1996-2000?L. Olvera Santana. The Slow and Difficult Institutionalization of Health Care Reform in Sonora: 1982-2000?R. Abrantes Pego. Guanajuato: Invisible Results?S. Arjonilla Alday. Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas: Opening and Closing a Window of Opportunity?the Editors. Decentralization at the Health District Level in Nuevo Leon?the Editors. Conclusions?the Editors.