Horacio Chacon-Torrico

Seattle, WA 98115

Hello, I’m Horacio Chacon-Torrico, a PhD student at the Department of Health Metrics Sciences at the University of Washington. I am also a Graduate Research Assistant at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in the US Health Disparities team, where I work on small area estimation. My research interests include population health metrics, health data science, biomedical informatics, surveillance and health systems, small area estimation, and health inequalities, with a particular focus on the intersection of technology, data, and public health and how to better use data to measure health outcomes in middle- and low-income countries.

Research Interests:

I’m dedicated to finding solutions for global health that enable us to measure the health of people who are often ignored due to broad assumptions made about the health of a population. Through my work, I strive to develop data-driven solutions that promote health equity and address health disparities. For my master thesis I researched the drivers of spatial-temporal heterogeneity in COVID-19 outcomes in Peru with Dr. Bobby Reiner.

Previously:

Previously, I earned my Master’s in Public Health (MPH) in Global Health from the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington. During my MPH, I worked as a Research Assistant at I-TECH, supporting the M&E data collection system from a Care and Treatment program in Zimbabwe. Additionally, I’m a peruvian physician and, besides my MPH, I hold M.Sc in Biomedical Informatics from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia where I worked designing a maternal and child health program that aided with a mHealth application for Community Health Workers and community-based components approach, aimed to monitor pregnant women and newborns in remote basin native communities

news

Dec 3, 2022	I was featured in “The Faces Behind the Data” section of UW Magazine.
May 27, 2022	Awarded Gilbert S. Omenn Award for Academic Excellence
Mar 15, 2022	Admitted to the Global Health Metrics PhD programm at IHME at UW.
Mar 14, 2021	Moved from Peru to Seattle!
Oct 15, 2020	OAS Graduate Studies scholarship awarded for the 2020-2022 period

selected publications

SSM Pop Health

Prevalence of home birth among 880,345 women in 67 low- and middle-income countries: A meta-analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys

Hernández-Vásquez, Akram, Chacon-Torrico, Horacio, and Bendezu-Quispe, Guido

SSM - Population Health, 2021

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Objective The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of home birth in low-middle income countries (LMIC) according to geographic area and sociodemographic characteristics between 2000 and 2019. Methods A meta-analysis was carried out using the most recent demographic and health surveys as a data source (total countries: 67). A random-effects meta-analysis was obtained to calculate pooled prevalence estimates of home birth for all the countries included and by geographic region of the world. Likewise, a subgroup analysis was performed to estimate the prevalence of home birth according to the sociodemographic factors considered for this study. Results The global prevalence of home birth was 28% (95% CI: 0.24–0.33), with the lowest prevalence in the region of Europe & Central Asia (5%, 95% CI: 0.03–0.07) and the highest in East Asia & Pacific region (38%, 95% CI: 0.26–0.51). Twelve countries had proportions of home births greater than 50% (seven belonged to the Sub-Saharan Africa region). The countries with the highest proportion of home births were Chad (78%), Ethiopia (73%), and Niger and Yemen (70% each). Concerning the wealth index, in general, the richest quintile (quintile 5) presented the lowest proportion of home births. In contrast, the poorest (quintile 1) generally had the highest prevalence of home births. Regarding educational level, women without education presented the highest proportions of home births in general. In relation to the area of residence, in almost all the countries studied, women in rural areas generally had a higher proportion of home births than those in urban areas. Conclusions Home births occurred in approximately 3 out of 10 women in LMIC. There are also differences in the proportion of home births according to socioeconomic factors such as educational level, wealth index, and rurality.
Birth

Geographic and socioeconomic inequalities in cesarean birth rates in Peru: A comparison between 2009 and 2018

Hernandez-Vasquez, Akram, Chacon-Torrico, Horacio, and Bendezu-Quispe, Guido

Birth, 2021

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Background: There is a global concern about the high rates of cesarean birth (CB). This study aimed to investigate the geographic and socioeconomic inequalities in CB rates in the Peruvian population. Methods: We conducted a population-based study using the Peruvian Demographic and Family Health Surveys (ENDES, the Spanish acronym for Encuesta Demográfica y de Salud Familiar) between 2009 and 2018. ENDES reported data from births registered in the five years preceding survey execution. For the years 2009 (n = 10 289) and 2018 (n = 23 077), we calculated the weighted rates of CB among variables such as natural geographic domain (Coast, Andean, or Amazon), area of residence (rural or urban), wealth index quintile (quintile 1 is poorest, and quintile 5 is richest), and educational level. To assess inequalities, we calculated the concentration index (CIs), the slope index of inequality (SII), and the relative index of inequality (RII). Results: The CB rates by year were 21.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 20.0-22.9) in 2009 and 34.5% (95% CI: 33.4-35.5) in 2018. Women living in urban and coastal regions and with a higher education level had the highest CB rates. All the CIs were positive, reflecting a prowealthy inequality in CB rates, and both SII and RII were positive, indicating a gap between the use of cesarean in women in the higher wealth quintile compared with those in the lower quintile. Conclusions: Cesarean birth rates have increased by 60% during the last decade in Peru. The richest wealth quintiles had the highest CB rates during the study years, which were well above global recommendations.
rpmesp

Manipulation, Analysis, and Visualization of Data from the Demographic and Family Health Survey With the R Program

Hernandez-Vasquez, Akram, and Chacon-Torrico, Horacio

Revista peruana de medicina experimental y salud publica, 2019

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The Demographic and Family Health Survey (ENDES, in Spanish) is a national population-based survey with representation at the departmental level and area of residence, constituting a source of information on the health status of the Peruvian population. In order to standardize its processing and subsequent reuse by the academic community and other stakeholders, we documented the code for the manipulation, analysis, and visualization of data from the ENDES 2017 health questionnaire, through an example on the prevalence of hypertension and obesity, using the R statistical programming environment and language. The R code is presented and detailed sequentially, as well as the theoretical support of the survey structure for the manipulation of databases, considering that the complex structure of the ENDES could be a potential barrier faced by researchers. Finally, this example can serve as a basis for generating further studies based on the ENDES that are relevant to public health decision-making.