Community-driven strategies for primary health care resilience in response to shocks in Latin America and the Caribbean
Date: September 2025
Author(s): Natalia Houghton, Ernesto Bascolo, Claudia Zavaleta, Walter Flores, Myrna Cunningham Kain, Carina Isabel Vance Mafla, and Jeannie Haggerty
Publication type: Scholarly journal article
Published by: The Lancet Regional Health - Americas
Community engagement in Primary Health Care (PHC) enhances system resilience. This scoping review and expert consultation aimed to document the range of community-driven interventions and strategies implemented in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in response to shocks and identify factors that enable or hinder their implementation.
The research reviewed 70 studies from January 2019 to July 2024 and interviewed with seven subject experts. It identified 14 community-driven strategies, grouped into three main categories: community health worker participation, community engagement, and mobilization of civil society organizations. For each category, the researchers analyzed facilitators and challenges.
The findings offer valuable insights for improving emergency preparedness and response strategies in health systems.
Natalia Houghton, Ernesto Bascolo, and Carina Isabel Vance Mafla work for the Pan American Health Organization, in Washington DC (Houghton and Bascolo) and Santiago, Chile (Vance)
Walter Flores works for the Accountability Research Center, School of International Service, American University, Washington DC
Myrna Cunningham Kain works for the Fondo para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas de América Latina y el Caribe (FILAC), La Paz, Bolivia
Jeannie Haggerty works for the Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada