Viewpoint: Two American nurses visit Cuba’s healthcare system
February 2016 Vol. 11 No. 2
Author: By Debra Whisenant, PhD, MSN, MSPH, and Alice L. March, PhD, RN, FNP, CNE
Political relations between Cuba and the United States are rapidly improving. This transformation provides unique opportunities for the exchange of ideas, including ideas related to how health care in general and nursing care in particular are delivered in each country.
The common perception of Cuba, the Cuban population, and the Cuban healthcare system can be one of low expectations for positive outcomes; however, Cuba has a strong history of successful primary and secondary prevention. (See
Cuban health care at a glance.)
Cuban health care at a glance
Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) support the positive outcomes of Cuba’s healthcare system:
- The average life expectancy for males and females is 77 years and 80 years, respectively, compared to 76 years and 81 years in the United States.
- Infant mortality rate is 4.76 deaths per 1,000 live births compared to 5.90 per 1,000 live births in the United States, according to the Central Intelligence Agency Factbook.
- For children under the age of six, the WHO notes that Cuba reports 6 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the United States reports 8 deaths per 1,000 live births.
- WHO recently validated the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis in Cuba.
These statistics are even more impressive when one considers that per capita healthcare expenditures for 2011 to 2015 in Cuba are significantly lower than in the United States—$603 versus $9,146 respectively, according to the World Bank Group.