Abstract
Background: Health systems in the Latin American region are characterized by segmentation and fragmentation, shaped by sociohistorical processes tied to political, economic, and sociocultural dynamics. As a result, these systems reflect prevailing development models, ideological paradigms, and diverse organizational arrangements at the levels of care models, insurance frameworks, system structure, and funding sources, among others. In this context, it is imperative that health services and care be person-centered, incorporating a complex adaptive social approach and a relational, population-based, plurinational, and territorial perspective. These services must integrate family and community care into care models, considering diversity and ensuring effective participation. To contribute to this vision, the study titled "Health System Conditions for Scaling Integrated Care in Latin American Contexts Using the SCIROCCO Tool" aims to analyze the organizational maturity conditions in local contexts across the region. The study seeks to strengthen integrated care centered on people, families, and communities in Latin America by addressing the question: What are the health system conditions for scaling integrated care in the contexts of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico, using the Scaling Integrated Care in Context (SCIROCCO) tool?
Approach: To answer this question, the study will characterize the degree of organizational maturity in health services across the study contexts based on the integrated care dimensions of the SCIROCCO tool. It will identify divergences and convergences in organizational maturity across these contexts and propose guidelines to advance person-, family-, and community-centered integrated care in the study contexts within Latin America.
Results: This initiative is underway and has successfully formed and prepared research teams in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Additionally, it has secured the support and guidance of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Implications: Developing this initiative has involved extensive preparation of research teams, including creating spaces for discussions to understand the functioning of health systems in participating contexts. This process has facilitated the inclusion of the complexity of each context in the fieldwork. Following this preparatory phase, the study will be implemented in the participating contexts during 2025–2026.