Health and life conditions of older people within Latin American countries: are differences expressions of inequities in health

ACOSTA, LAURA; ROJAS CABRERA, ELEONORA SOLEDAD; FANTIN, MARÍA ALEJANDRA

Ciudad del Cabo

Congreso; XXVIII International Population Conference; 2017

IUSSP International Union for the Scientific Study of Population

Life expectancy in Latin America has increased significantly since 1950, mainly as a result of medical and public health interventions. However, in Latin American countries, poverty and inequity continue being an important problem; consequently people aging in the region, but maybe not in the best conditions of life and health.The objective of this paper is to analyze inside differences in health status of people of 60 years and older; in selected Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil and México), observe their evolution; and related the differences with health inequities, between 2000 to 2015.We will calculate some indicators for monitoring right to health of elderly people (Santillán Pizarro et al, 2016): profiles of mortality in aging, prevalence of chronic diseases, mental illness , functional capacity and self-perception health; by geographic subdivision (region) and sex; for Argentina, Brazil, and México. Then, with the purpose of identifying if differences inside of each country are health inequities, we will use: the relative index of inequality and the slope index of inequality.We expect that results of this investigation will supply information about the need of equitable policies, for each country and for older people in particular.