Filipino and Cuban Health Systems: A Comparative-Historical Study

Abstract

Despite the similar histories shared by the Philippines and Cuba, these two countries have formed drastically different health systems. Given the varied health outcomes produced by the Filipino and Cuban health systems, this study examined how historical events shaped the health institutions and services in both countries by means of a qualitative comparative-historical design. The study aims to describe and compare the health systems of Cuba and the Philippines while analyzing its development through the years and how their historical experiences influenced their governance and service delivery. Data was collected through a systematic literature review which was presented through the PRISMA flow diagram. Key informant interviews were also conducted with a medical historiographer and medical anthropologist. The data analysis emphasized the ineffective healthcare of both countries during the colonial period which eventually achieved significant changes in the post-colonial period as they diverged into two different systems, the neoliberal Philippines which privatized healthcare and the socialist Cuba which focused on community-based approaches to health. The parallelisms observed include the Catholic-run institutions and health deficiencies during the Spanish occupation, the emergence of the germ theory of disease under the presence of the US military, including the health inequalities and repressive COVID-19 response during the contemporary period. The health systems diverged in terms of ideology, the purpose of labor export, and data availability. These historical changes resulted in varied health outcomes as observed in their public health indicators, which showcased Cuba as more effective in providing healthcare than the Philippines.