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Current status of the rheumatologists’ workforce in Latin America: a PANLAR collaborative study

Authors :
Daniel Palleiro
Enrique R. Soriano
Diana Carolina Fernández-Ávila
Antonio Cachafeiro-Vilar
Rubén Montufar
Sayonara Sandino
Chayanne Natielle Rossetto
Lucia Meléndez-Muñoz
Dina Arrieta
Alfredo Vargas-Caselles
Daniela Trincado
Nilmo Chávez
Carlos Santiago-Pastelín
Sergio Kowalskii
Daniela Patino-Hernandez
Manuel F. Ugarte-Gil
Gil Reyes
César Graf
Daniel G. Fernández-Ávila
Nelly Colman
Ana Maria Sapag
Jossiel Then Baez
Yurilis J Fuentes-Silva
Paula I. Burgos
Mario H. Cardiel
Source :
Clinical Rheumatology. 40:2913-2920
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2021.

Abstract

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.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.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).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.

Details

ISSN :
14349949 and 07703198
Volume :
40
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Clinical Rheumatology
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....ff6004347c8c12cce5e6ef93b3c097c5
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-020-05555-w