About the Program

Countries

Chile

The Ministry of Health of Chile, and the Chilean Security Association (Asociación Chilena de Seguridad – ACHS) are both located in Santiago, the nation's capital. Representing the public and private sectors, respectively, both agencies present outstanding and highly complementary opportunities for intervention and prevention research and are linked through cooperative agreements with the University of Chile.

The Ministry of Health of Chile has a longstanding tradition of public health research in addition to supporting a primary health care system for a large portion of the Chilean people. In the area of environmental health, the Ministry supports research, develops standards, issues regulation, and conducts surveillance activities. Interestingly, unlike in the U.S., the Ministry also has significant enforcement powers in environmental and occupational health, which are shared with the Ministry of Labor. The Ministry of Health has environmental and occupational health offices in all 29 of its regional services throughout Chile. Each of these regional offices has a physician and at least 1 engineer/industrial hygienist dedicated to environmental and occupational health.

The Chilean Security Association (Asociación Chilean de Seguridad, ACHS). The Chilean Security Association is the largest of three private, non-profit occupational health care organization that provide primary health and occupational health care to two-thirds of the formal Chilean working population and their families. By law, private employers in Chile must buy comprehensive health care from one of these institutions, known as mutuales. The mutuales provide primary and specialty health care; occupational health services; industrial hygiene and safety; and workers' compensation to employees through contracts with the employers, This unique system ties treatment and compensation with preventive services in a structure that rewards prevention of disease and injury. ACHS is the largest mutual in Chile, providing services to 1.3 million Chilean workers in diverse industries. It has a large network of hospitals, clinics, and preventive services throughout Chile. ACHS has a research institute in its organization as the focal point for 80 current research projects in its organization in collaboration with outside institutions.