Recursos Humanos em Anestesiologia na América Latina e no Brasil / Manpower in Anesthesiology in Latin America

RESUMO

The growth of the manpower in Anesthesiology in Latin America during the last eight years was investigated. A questionnaire inquiring the number of health professionals in anesthesiology and the annual production of new specialists was sent to the 20 Societies of Anesthesiology in Latin America in 1991. Similar questionnaire had been sent in 1987 and 1983. Eighteen Societies of Anesthesiology responded. The Latin American (LA) countries grouped into 5 sub-regions the South Cone (SC), Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay; the Andean Countries (AC), Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela; Central America and Caribbean Countries (CA-Cb), Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic; Mexico (ME); and Brazil (BR). The ratio anesthesia professional population was calculated for each country and each sub-region. The population of the Latin American countries was obtained from the World Population Bureau and Panamerican Health Organization (PAHO), both in Washington, DC, USA and from the Brazilian Institute Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in Brasilia, Brazil, for the Brazilian data. The Latin American ratio anesthesia professional population was 5.0100,000 in 1991. The ratios for the sub-regions were SC 4.6100,000, Ca-Cb 5.9100,000, Ac 3.4100,000, ME 5.9100,000, and BR 5.0100,000. Cuba reported the best ratio of anesthesia professional; population, 16.4100,000. Uruguay and Cuba reported the best ratio anesthesiologist population 9.0100,000 and 7.0100,000 respectively. There were 1,788 non-physicians giving anesthetics in Latin America, 970 of them in Cuba. This country and Paraguay reported official statistics of non-physicians in anesthesia, 9 Societies of Anesthesiology estimated their number, and 4 other admitted that they existed, but did not estimated their number. Non physician Anesthesia is illegal in 3 countries. Nine hundred physicians completed their residency training in anesthisiology in Latn America, in 1991, against 710 who completed it in 1983, a 27 percent increase. The largest increase, 77 percent, occurred in the CA-Cb sub-region, mainly in Cuba which had 22 new specialists graduated in 1983 and 60 graduated em 1991, a 172 percent increase. Other sub-regional increases were ME 39 percent, AC 38 percent, SC 25 percent, and BR 2 percent. The 1983; 1987 and 1991 inquiries uncovered a chronic manpower deficit in anesthesiology in Latin America. The ratios of one anesthesia professional for 20,000 habitants found in 1991 are obviously inadequate. Extremely low ratio anesthesia professional population were found in Haiti, 1100,000, and in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Ecuador, 150,000. The growth of manpower in anesthesia in LA countries was insufficient to make up for the 1983 deficit and to meet the population demand for services, with the exception of Cuba and possibly Uruguay