The prevention of health risks in Cuba

Cuba still has adouble burden of health risks. It must contend with some risks to health that persist in underdeveloped rural areas, and it must also deal with the risk factors associated with modern, urban living conditions. The economic and social changes fostered in the postrevolutionary period have reduced the relative importance of the 1st set of factors, derived from their own successees. Cuba's preventive attention is increasingly concentrated on heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Risk factors related to diet, smoking, obesity, sedentarianism, and occupational accidents are also receiving much attention. 2 types of preventive strategies have been employed to avoid health risks, namely, changing behavior that exposes people to risk and eliminating the risk itself. It is too early to tell how successful Cuba will be in its present campaign to reduce risk factors. The decisive factors for Cuba's current health programs very likely will be the roles of the local governments and of the mass organizations operating at the level of the community and workplace.