Community-driven strategies for primary health care resilience in response to shocks in Latin America and the Caribbean: a scoping review and expert consultation

Community engagement in Primary Health Care (PHC) enhances system resilience. This scoping review and expert consultation aimed to document the range of community-driven interventions and strategies implemented in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in response to shocks and identify factors that enable or hinder their implementation. The research used a mixed-methods approach, including a scoping review of 70 studies from January 2019 to July 2024 and interviews with seven subject experts. The findings were then validated with six additional experts. The study identified 14 community-driven strategies, grouped into three main categories: community health worker participation, community engagement, and mobilization of civil society organizations. For each category, the researchers analyzed facilitators and challenges. This work provides a comprehensive compilation and analysis of community-driven interventions during emergencies in LAC. The findings offer valuable insights for improving emergency preparedness and response strategies in health systems.