Cuba's Maternal Health And Early Childhood Development: Lessons For Canada

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 03 Feb 2009 - 3:00 PST

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Cuba's comprehensive approach to maternal health and early childhood development can be a model for Canada, writes Dr. Wilbert Keon, chair of Canada's Senate Subcommittee on Population Health in an analysis in CMAJ. Healthy development for all Cuban children is a priority â€" health management occurs even before conception and support continues for children and families with preschool education programs and more.

Despite Canada's good health care delivery system, it is burdened with acute and chronic illness. "We need a population health approach to optimize health and well-being and minimize preventable disease," writes Dr. Keon.

Polyclinics, collaborative programs, and research to inform approaches and policy are 3 elements of the Cuban system that can help Canada improve its approach to health care. However, he does not suggest adopting the entire Cuban health care delivery system.

About CMAJ

CMAJ is the leading health sciences journal in Canada. CMAJ is a general medical journal publishing original research and review articles, commentaries and editorials, practice updates, an arts and ideas section and health news. Published continuously since 1911, new issues are uploaded on http://www.cmaj.ca every second Monday at 4:30 p.m. EST/EDT. http://www.cmaj.ca contains the complete editorial contents of CMAJ, supplemented by a variety of interactive features and additional content.

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