Socioeconomic factors associated with antimicrobial resistance in Latin America: A systematic review and empirical analysis of 41 Chilean hospitals

The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most urgent global public health threats. Although frequently overlooked, the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance is also affected by socioeconomic factors, including inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), living conditions, waste management, and educational level.

Therefore, these factors could be important predictors of AMR dissemination in poor contexts, such as Latin America, a region with several competing health priorities, limited health resources, deficient WASH infrastructure, uneven healthcare access, extreme poverty, and ubiquitous economic inequality. Recent OECD estimates indicate that AMR in Latin America ranges from 21% to 40%, as well as poverty rates according to the World Bank. Thus, articulating social policies to prevent and control the dissemination of AMR isolating the socioeconomic linkage is crucial.