Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess whether government policies to expand the coverage of maternal health and family planning (MHFP) services were benefiting the adolescents in need. To this end, we estimated government MHFP expenditure for 10- to 19-year-old adolescents without social security (SS) coverage between 2003 and 2015. We evaluated its evolution and distribution nationally and sub-nationally by level of marginalization, as well as its relationship with demand indicators. Using Jointpoint regressions, we estimated the average annual percent change (AAPC) nationally and among states. Expenditure for adolescents without SS coverage registered 15% for AAPC for the period 2003–2011 and was stable for the remaining years, with 88% of spending allocated to maternal health. Growth in MHFP expenditure reduced the ratio of spending by 13% among groups of states with greater/lesser marginalization; nonetheless, the poorest states continued to show the lowest levels of expenditure. Although adolescents without SS coverage benefited from greater MHFP expenditure as a consequence of health policies directed at achieving universal health coverage, gaps persisted in its distribution among states, since those with similar demand indicators exhibited different levels of expenditure. Further actions are required to improve resource allocation to disadvantaged states and to reinforce the use of FP services by adolescents.
Highlights
Mexico and other Latin American countries need to invest in the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents [1,2,3,4]
The adolescent population is one of the groups where public policy could have the most dramatic impact given the repercussions for health and wellbeing and the economic benefits these policies would generate [1,4]
Financial evidence on the levels of expenditure allocated to these services and on its distribution throughout the population is a key input for planning public investment
Summary
Mexico and other Latin American countries need to invest in the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents [1,2,3,4]. Ensuring the availability of healthcare and promoting healthy behaviors in this population group generate economic benefits that improve future labor productivity. From a human rights perspective, adolescents are entitled to receive the information and health services they need to survive, grow, and realize their full potential as individuals [1,3,5]. As a result of Mexican population dynamics, adolescents exert an unprecedented impact on national demographics. With nearly one-fourth of the population being aged 10–19 years in 2014 [6], Int. J. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 3097; doi:10.3390/ijerph17093097 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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