As part of my medical school graduation requirements I had to elaborate and defend a thesis.
My thesis defense took place on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Lima, Peru. My Alma mater is Universidad Científica del Sur, also located in Lima.
Below are my thesis report as well as defense presentation slides.
Thesis defense slides (click on the image to view presentation):
Thesis report (click on the image to view full document):
THESIS
“The Use of Ambulatory Health Services in
the Peruvian Northern Coast, during the year 2016″
Luis Angelo Juarez Tsuchiya
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To describe the manner in which Peru´s northern coast 2016 National Household Survey participants use ambulatory health services and to identify associated factors on the basis of such findings. METHODS: A descriptive and correlational cross-sectional study using data from the 2016 Peruvian National Household Survey´s health module was performed. The sample comprised the entirety of those surveyed in Peru´s northern coast (N = 18 584, urban sector n = 14 859, 80.0%; rural sector n = 3 725, 20.0%). Questions pertaining to patients´ 1) sociodemographic information, 2) health-related problems, 3) accessibility to health services and 4) quality of service provided in health care facilities were considered. Both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were implemented in order to recount and determine the degree of association among variables. RESULTS: Fifty-two point one percent of the population were men, 25.7% were children, 29.2% were married, 26.6% were live-in partners, and 28.7% had incomplete primary school as the highest level of education achieved. Forty-three point one percent of older adults and 40.7% of adults presented acute clinical manifestations, while 38.0% suffered from chronic disease. Twenty-three percent of the population, particularly in the rural sector, lacked insurance coverage. Thirty-one point eight percent of respondents considered seeking medical assistance to be unjustified. A bivariate correlation test for the presence of chronic disease among age groups showed X2 = 3 367.081, df = 4, p < 0.00, and Cramér´s V = 0.426. CONCLUSIONS: The rural population is characterized by a larger proportion of males, youngsters, couples, and those with lower educational attainment. Acute clinical manifestations and chronic disease have a greater prevalence among adults and the elderly. There is a larger proportion of people lacking insurance coverage in the urban sector. People avoid searching for medical assistance mainly due to customs and habits. There is statistical significance with moderate strength of association between the presence of chronic illnesses and age groups. KEY WORDS: National Household Survey, sociodemographic information, health-related problems, access to ambulatory health services, quality of service provided in health care facilities, health insurance.