@TechReport{iza:izadps:dp16350,
            	author={Bancalari, Antonella and Bernal, Pedro and Celhay, Pablo and Martinez, Sebastian and Sánchez, Maria Deni},
            	title={An Ounce of Prevention for a Pound of Cure: Efficiency of Community-Based Healthcare},
            	year={2023},
	month={Jul},
            	institution={Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)},
            	address={Bonn},
            	type={IZA Discussion Paper},
            	number={16350},
            	url={https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp16350},
	abstract={We study the efficiency in health systems generated by community health teams, a common strategy in low- and middle-income countries for primary healthcare delivery. We exploit the rollout of a nation-wide expansion of coverage to this model in El Salvador. Using a panel dataset of municipalities spanning 2009-2018 from consultation and hospital records of almost 4 million episodes, we show that investing in community-based healthcare, which relied on less-specialized health workers, led to a more efficient allocation of care. Preventive care increased and curative care and hospitalizations from preventable conditions decreased, while coverage in curative care for previously unattended chronic diseases increased.},
	keywords={community-based healthcare;efficiency;access},
            }