In the light of a complex context marked by the aftereffects of arboviruses such as chikungunya, which pose new challenges to the health system within communities, the Family Medicine Program reached its 42nd anniversary, aimed at continuing to strengthen its work.
Las Tunas, Cuba.– Dr. Yanara Suárez Hernández, head of the Primary Care Department in the province, assured the press that since 2024, they have overcome obstacles such as the decrease in active healthcare personnel, the epidemiological situation, and the health status of the population —elements that necessitated a transformation of the program, but without abandoning its founding principles.
“We considered modifications, some temporary and others permanent, to improve the management and quality of the care model,” the doctor commented. “Above all, we sought to make the healthcare system efficient and sustainable. To this end, we implemented a dynamic process, reorganizing medical offices and proposing an effective consolidation of basic work teams, with a model of one doctor and two nurses.”
Immersed in this considerable challenge, sector leaders adjusted the organization to 518 basic teams, 510 of them in the community, six in educational centers, and two in workplaces.
Suárez Hernández emphasized that the strategy was effective, as 2025 was marked by 100 percent coverage. Within this framework, 86 high-complexity basic teams had graduates in Comprehensive General Medicine and residents specializing in the field. In addition, Family Medicine professionals were certified to serve as professors of Obstetrics, Pediatrics, and Internal Medicine, and the staff roster was completed.
“The operation of adolescent circles materialized with the integration of the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Unit (ProSalud) in the 14 health areas and consultations related to infant feeding and nutrition; while the 14 polyclinics maintained their teaching status.
“With great efforts, we improved the structural condition of 22 clinics by the end of December and held health festivals in vulnerable settlements,” she added.
2026 requires continuing the intersectoral work to support the population, whose health situation is currently much more complicated. From the General Directorate of Health, the strategy aims to guarantee medical and nursing coverage for all inhabitants, extend community outreach to hard-to-reach towns, and strengthen disease prevention through actions of health promotion, which is the fundamental premise of the basic teams.
Suárez Hernández explained that in the neighborhoods, they will continue to focus on issues such as teenage pregnancy; it is projected that the new Health institution, comprised of the doctor's office, the Basic Work Group, and the polyclinic, together with the community, can address the demands of the population and their most pressing realities.
