ReviewJournal of racial and ethnic health disparities2026
Barriers to Accessing Post-Mastectomy Breast Reconstruction in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Scoping Systematic Review.
Review in Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBreast reconstruction is associated with improved quality of life after mastectomy; however, in Latin America and the Caribbean, access remains limited due to structural inequities, delays, and shortages of specialized personnel.
objectiveTo map and synthesize the evidence on access to post-mastectomy breast reconstruction in Latin America and the Caribbean, identifying barriers, facilitators, and research gaps.
methodsA scoping review was conducted. Searches were performed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, and LILACS for studies published between 2010 and 2025, with no language restrictions (English, Spanish, and Portuguese).
resultsOf 4212 records identified, 26 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were observational, complemented by economic evaluations, qualitative studies, and administrative analyses. Evidence was concentrated in Brazil and Mexico, with smaller contributions from Peru, Colombia, Cuba, Chile, and Venezuela. Identified barriers included economic (lack of coverage, out-of-pocket costs), geographic (urban concentration, need for long-distance travel), health system-related (shortage of specialists, limited infrastructure and microvascular capacity), clinical/institutional (restricted training and technical complexity), and sociocultural (information gaps, stigma, cultural beliefs). Reconstruction was consistently associated with a higher quality of life (BREAST-Q, SF-36) and favorable cost-effectiveness in selected settings.
conclusionsStructural and equity barriers to breast reconstruction persist in Latin America and the Caribbean. Public health policies should explicitly include breast reconstruction, particularly immediate procedures in benefit packages; expand microvascular surgery capacity through hub-and-spoke models; strengthen specialist training; and implement patient navigation and standardized counseling to ensure timely, safe, and equitable access.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41965487What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.