Management strategies in public hospitals in Latin America. A systematic review
Keywords:
Health policy, hospital, strategic planning, (UNESCO Thesaurus).
Abstract
The general objective of the research was to analyze management strategies in public hospitals in Latin America through a systematic review. The research was of documentary typology and exploratory-descriptive coverage. The method was implemented based on the premises of a structured bibliographic review, considering appropriate academic, institutional and technical sources, both nationally and internationally. In addition, it was supported by a systematic review of referred papers. Following the guidelines of the PRISMA declaration, the sources of information were obtained from databases including: SciELO, Scopus and PubMed. In conclusion, the review suggests strengths in financial efficiency, data use, and quality strategies, but weaknesses persist in governance, centralization, human resources, and oversight. In short, public management is making progress by improving efficiency in saving public funds and is improving the quality of service through data analysis and hospital safety systems.
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References
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Rodríguez, C. A. (2016). Challenges to effectiveness in public health organizations: The case of the Costa Rican Health Ministry. Journal of Business Research, 69(9), 3859-3868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.11.018
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Banco Mundial. (2021). Preparar los sistemas sanitarios para las crisis. https://n9.cl/mngbh
Bolis, I., & Sznelwar, L. I. (2016). A case study of the implementation of an ergonomics improvement committee in a Brazilian hospital–Challenges and benefits. Applied Ergonomics, 53, 181-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2015.09.012
Borja-Aburto, V. H. (2024). Primary health care on the Mexican model of health care for well-being. Salud Pública de México, 66(5), 670-676. https://doi.org/10.21149/15755
Bulhões, B., Bellas, H., Arcuri, R., de Carvalho, P. V. R., & Jatobá, A. (2022). Shifting the management model of Brazilian health services: Perceptions of major stakeholders on the participation of the private sector in public hospital administration. Dialogues in Health, 1, 100011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dialog.2022.100011
da Silva, K. T., Filgueiras, R. C., Gamaski, R., & Göttems, L. B. D. (2020). Prototype for monitoring incidents in the health services: Innovation for patient safety. Texto e Contexto Enfermagem, 29, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-265X-TCE-2019-0185
de Almeida, P. F., de Oliveira, S. C., & Giovanella, L. (2018). Network integration and care coordination: The case of Chile’s health system. Ciencia e Saude Coletiva, 23(7), 2213-2228. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232018237.09622018
de Freitas Moura Souza, A. M., de Oliveira, S. B., & Daher, E. P. (2016). Mapping the Hospital Billing Process: The Case of the a Federal Hospital in Rio de Janeiro. Procedia Computer Science, 100, 671-676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2016.09.210
Fabrizzio, G. C., Erdmann, A. L., & Santos, J. L. (2023). Theoretical model for management of nursing research groups. Revista Gaúcha De Enfermagem, 44, e20220254. https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-1447.2023.20220254.en
Fonseca, H. L. P. da, & Cunha Júnior, L. A. P. da. (2019). The creation of the autonomous social service Instituto Hospital de Base as a new model for public hospital management in the Federal District, Brazil. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 24(6), 2053-2064. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232018246.08502019
Gaitán-Rossi, P., Yañez-Santaolalla, J., Jiménez-Ortiz, A., Tapia-Hernández, B. Z., y Reyes-Morales, H. (2025). Mexico City monitoring system during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case-study. Health Policy and Technology, 14(6), 101115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2025.101115
Jara Martínez, A. M., Asmat Vega, N. S., Alberca Pintado, N. E., y Medina Guzmán, J. J. (2018). Human talent management as a factor for improving public management and job performance. Revista Venezolana de Gerencia, 23(83). https://n9.cl/cu7ck
Kern, A. E., Feldman, L. B., & D’Innocenzo, M. (2018). Implantação do gerenciamento de riscos num hospital público. Rev. Paul. Enferm. (Online), 29(1/3), 127-135. https://n9.cl/gwnn1
Ketelhöhn, N., & Sanz, L. (2016). Healthcare management priorities in Latin America: Framework and responses. Journal of Business Research, 69(9), 3835-3838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.04.008
Lima, I. B., Alves, D., & Furegato, A. R. F. (2022). Mental Health Indicators for the Brazilian Psychosocial Care Network: A proposal. Revista latino-americana de enfermagem, 30, e3599. https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.5618.3599
Longaray, A. A., Ensslin, L., Ensslin, S. R., & da Rosa, I. O. (2015). Assessment of a Brazilian public hospital’s performance for management purposes: A soft operations research case in action. Operations Research for Health Care, 5, 28-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orhc.2015.05.001
López Puig, P., Díaz Bernal, Z., Segredo Pérez, A. M., y Pomares Pérez, Y. (2017). Evaluation of the human talent management in the Cuban hospital setting. Revista Cubana de Salud Pública, 43(1), 3-15. https://n9.cl/zy2vr
Mansur, N. S., Marcos, P. T., Mattei, D. F., & Lopes Filho, G. J. (2021). Public financing versus private billing in a public hospital under management of a Social Health Organization. Revista Do Colégio Brasileiro De Cirurgiões, 48, e20202840. https://doi.org/10.1590/0100-6991e-20202840
Mira, J. J., Carrillo, I., García-Elorrio, E., Andrade-Lourenção, D. C. D. E., Pavan-Baptista, P. C., Franco-Herrera, A. L., Campos-Castolo, E. M., Poblete, R., Limo, J., Siu, H., & Sousa, P. (2020). What Ibero-American hospitals do when things go wrong? A cross-sectional international study. International Journal for Quality in Health Care: Journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care, 32(5), 313-318. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzaa031
Miranda-Mendizábal, A., Vargas, I., Mogollón-Pérez, A.-S., Eguiguren, P., Ferreira de Medeiros Mendes, M., López, J., Bertolotto, F., Amarilla, D., & Vázquez Navarrete, M.-L. (2020). Knowledge and use of clinical coordination mechanisms in healthcare networks in Latin America. Gaceta Sanitaria, 34(4), 340-349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2018.09.009
Organización Mundial de la Salud. (2023). Atención primaria de salud. https://n9.cl/e1pwa
Organización Mundial de la Salud. (2025). Servicios de salud de calidad. https://n9.cl/cgh2i
Pedraza, C. C. (2020). Financing of integrated health service networks. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 44. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2020.121
Quispe Mamani, E., Pineda Palomino, K. P., Poma Callo, Y., Quispe Huaranca, L. I. & Inquilla Mamani, J. (2022). Gestión organizacional de la atención primaria en el sistema regional de salud Puno, Perú. Revista de Salud Pública, 24(4), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.15446/rsap.v24n4.101006
Quispe, A., Hinojosa-Ticona, Y., Miranda, H., y Sedano, C. (2021). Serie de Redacción Científica: Revisiones Sistemáticas. Revista del Cuerpo Médico Hospital Nacional Almanzor Aguinaga Asenjo, 14(1), 94-99. https://dx.doi.org/10.35434/rcmhnaaa.2021.141.906
Rodríguez, C. A. (2016). Challenges to effectiveness in public health organizations: The case of the Costa Rican Health Ministry. Journal of Business Research, 69(9), 3859-3868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.11.018
Vasques, L., Rijo, R., y Alves, D. (2024). Interoperability at healthcare institutions in Brazil: Framework for identify maturity stages. CENTERIS – International Conference on ENTERprise Information Systems 2023, 239, 2316-2321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2024.06.424
Zanelli Reyes, H. D. (2022). Gestión hospitalaria de un modelo de asociación público privada y un modelo tradicional en dos hospitales del Callao: Gestión hospitalaria de un modelo de asociaciones públicas privadas y un modelo tradicional en dos hospitales del Callao. Revista de La Facultad de Medicina Humana, 22(2). https://doi.org/10.25176/rfmh.v22i2.4796
Published
2026-01-01
How to Cite
Villegas-Rojas , S. R., & Lora-Loza, M. G. (2026). Management strategies in public hospitals in Latin America. A systematic review. Gestio Et Productio. Revista Electrónica De Ciencias Gerenciales , 8(14), 91-104. https://doi.org/10.35381/gep.v8i14.704
Section
De Investigación
Copyright (c) 2026 Susan Raquel Villegas-Rojas , Miryam Griselda Lora-Loza
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