VI EquityCancer-LA International Workshop in Santiago, Chile
Between 20 and 24 April 2026, the Faculty of Government at the University of Chile hosted the 6th EquityCancer-LA International Workshop, entitled “Improving equity in access to early cancer diagnosis across different healthcare systems in Latin America”, organised by the Salvador Allende School of Public Health and the Catalan Health and Social Care Consortium (CSC). The workshop brought together research teams from Chile, Ecuador (PUCE), Colombia (University of Rosario), Denmark (University of Copenhagen), Portugal (NOVA University) and Spain (CSC, FSJD), members of the Local Steering Committee in Chile, as well as the International Scientific Committee. The aim was to share and discuss progress in evaluating the interventions implemented in each country and to plan the next stages.
During the sessions, the preliminary results of the qualitative evaluation of the implementation process of the strategies and the associated costs were discussed, as well as the evaluation of their effectiveness, based on surveys of doctors and patients. Among the results, it is worth highlighting the contribution of the strategies not only to improving the skills of primary care professionals in the early suspicion of cancer, but also, and most notably, to strengthening the networking between primary and secondary/tertiary care, thereby contributing to a reduction in fragmentation, according to the stakeholders involved and the evaluation surveys. Furthermore, the results of the patient survey appear to indicate improved diagnostic times, despite limited implementation over time and contextual factors that do not favour them.
The integration of the final results was discussed to strengthen recommendations for the sustainability and replicability of the interventions within public health service networks in the participating health systems and other interested contexts. Preparations also began for the final regional conference, which will take place in Quito at the end of September.
The meeting also served to highlight the degree of growth and cohesion within the international team, comprising all participating countries, and the national teams made up of academia and health services.
As part of the workshop, two public events were organised: on 22 April, in conjunction with the Santiago Medical Association and INCANCER, the seminar “Review of international experience in the timely diagnosis of cancer”; and on 23 April, organised in collaboration with the South Metropolitan Health Service, the international seminar “Improving access to cancer diagnosis in health service networks: research and participatory interventions in Colombia, Chile and Ecuador”.
You can find the workshop programme at the end of this article
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