Se requieren más médicos especialistas para tratar el cáncer: urge la formación prioritaria y un número suficiente de oncólogos en Ecuador
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29166/rfcmq.v43i2.2818Keywords:
public health, cancer treatment, Ecuador, professional gap, medical specialistsAbstract
Context: cancer has taken extreme importance in the Ecuadorian population, due to the fast increase in incidence and mortality rates; it implies that the National Health System must respond to the needs of those affected by cancer. It is imperative to have sufficient human talent in relation to timely diagnosis, treatment and monitoring. With this background, the objective of the study is to determine and estimate the human talent gap specialized in oncology based on data from Quito and Guayaquil as national reference cities. Method: estimates were made in two stages. The first is based on the calculation of supply and demand projections of medical oncology services in Quito and Guayaquil, based on the historical information contained in databases published by INEC. The second stage was based on the transformation of the estimated values based on the capacity of visits of health professionals for the projection of needs. With these two scenarios, the human talent gap was determined. Results: Quito and Guayaquil present an important and growing gap of medical professionals and support human talent (image and laboratory). Using projections estimates, both in the trend of variation and in the capacity of visits, a significant increase in personnel trained in oncology is needed, starting with the number of medical oncologists. Conclusion: to cover the real and potential demand for medical services for cancer treatment in Ecuador until 2021, it is necessary to train at least 3142 doctors for Guayaquil and 4546 for Quito. In relation to the number of technologists, auxiliaries, nutritionists, nurses and psychologists by type of specialty, by 2021 it is necessary to train 5232 professionals for Guayaquil and 8938 for Quito. In both cases, the gap until 2021 will be 7688 medical specialists and 14170 related professionals. The gap for the rest of the provinces in Ecuador has not been estimated
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Copyright (c) 2018 Tatiana Villacrés, Tania Soria, Cristiano Buizza, Fabricio González-Andrade
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