Project IP: Jerònia Pons Pons (Univ. Of Seville) and Margarita Vilar Rodríguez (Univ. Of A Coruña) 

 

 

In the previous project (call 2015-2018) we analyzed various aspects that contributed to the construction and management of the hospital system in Spain between 1886 and 1986. The objectives were more than met and, as a culmination, a book prepared by all will be published shortly the team at the publishing house Marcial Pons. Among other aspects, this study allowed us to quantify the number of hospitals according to their patrimonial assignment, to reconstruct the hospital map in Spain from a long-term perspective, and to identify the main factors that determined its historical configuration. The main conclusions obtained were linked to the financing and management model; However, this work revealed other important keys in this process that had not been initially considered as an object of study in this first project. That is, the different strategies adopted in rural and urban areas; the different regional models of hospital development; the process of medicalization, professionalization of management and human resources in hospitals; the influence of cultural aspects (ideological and religious) ... In parallel, the first project allowed some contacts with international research groups that highlighted the need to compare the historical development of the Spanish hospital system with other countries. For this reason, we propose to incorporate the international perspective into the objectives of the new project. This comparative approach would also allow us to assess to what extent the proposed factors (apart from funding) have been binding in the different countries to achieve a hospital system of recognized international quality.