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Objective: To identify the types of studies conducted on the Colombian armed conflict, their interdisciplinary fields, methods, techniques, as well as the conceptions of armed conflict and rurality used in these studies and their relevance for public health. Methodology: In this qualitative and metatheoretical study, we conducted a narrative review, which involved using a search protocol for selecting papers following inclusion and exclusion criteria. We included articles and research papers subjected to content analysis that were found in institutional repositories and databases. Results: Most of the analyzed studies are from university institutional repositories and, in disciplinary terms, from social, human, and political sciences. Thus, the research methods that are used are primarily those coined in these fields, such as the ethnographic and life stories methods, although correlational and experimental methods are also included. Few works use explicit conceptual or theoretical references to armed conflict and rurality. This generates academic, ethical, and political concerns regarding how the realities of these issues are understood and addressed. Of the 101 papers we analyzed, only 7 belong to the field of healthcare, and of these, only 1 belongs to the field of public health. This finding is noteworthy, given the multiple effects that the conflict has had on the health and lives of various groups of the Colombian population. Conclusion: The effects of violence, wars, conflicts, and their effects on population health have been the subject of interest of international and national bodies and of some academics in the field of public health. There is a need for a stronger role of public health in addressing the effects of the Colombian conflict on the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Within the framework of the project of solidary continuing education "Laboratory of rural and intercultural health community of Bojayá, Chocó", this paper presents the results of the individual diagnostic phase and the initial approach to the collective diagnosis of the health status diagnosis presented in an Afro-Colombian group surviving to a notorious massacre occurred in Colombia. Methodology: Preliminary exploration and community diagnosis elements with 66 survivors of the massacre occurred on May 2, 2002 in the Bellavista village, in the municipality of Bojayá, Chocó. Results: Deficient socio-economic conditions and neglected clinical diagnosis were identified. An initial approach to the available potentialities to face the individual and collective health needs of the approached population was made, represented by community knowledge and accessibility to institutional programs and health services for victims. Conclusions: Although more than 15 years have passed from the occurrence of the Bojayá massacre until our work with the community began, the persistence of numerous unsatisfied needs that negatively affect the individual and collective health status, without adequate and timely intervention, was found. Any further action looking to address such matters should take into account the socio-historical conditions that define the health-illness-care process in that community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin in 1928 marked the beginning of an era characterized by the development of different groups of antibiotics that allowed the proper treatment of serious infections caused by bacteria that affected the world population. However, the development of each class of antibiotics almost simultaneously triggered the emergence of resistant bacteria, due in part to the widespread and inappropriate use of these medicines. As a result, managing bacterial infections has become increasingly complicated and currently there are few treatment options, added to the fact that the development of new antimicrobials is no longer attractive to the pharmaceutical industry. This situation has led the World Health Organization to warn of the arrival of a post-antibiotic era, where common or previously easily treated infections could cause deaths as a result of bacterial resistance to several groups of antibiotics. Therefore, questions arise about how this situation could have come to be and what solutions are needed to avoid the dreaded post-antibiotic era, questions that we attempt to answer in this paper by addressing aspects related not only to microorganisms, but also to social, economic and even political contexts, which influence the increase of antimicrobial resistance and hinder its control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to determine the meaning given to the concept of burden of chronic non-communicable disease among patients, family caregivers, health care professionals and health service institutions. Methodology: a systematic review conducted using the following databases: LILACS, Sage, Willey Online Library, Scopus, Bireme, Scielo, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Proquest and Cuiden. Results: a total of 538 papers were found, 58 of which were selected for analysis. These papers formed three categories: physical burden, psychosocial burden and additional financial effort. Conclusions: the meaning of the burden of chronic disease is built by patients and their caregivers on the basis of their experience and the effects of the illness on their private life, i.e. the impact at the personal or family levels. Health professionals and institutions acknowledge the importance of the experience of the disease for the patient and family, but they both give priority to its economic impact at an institutional and health system level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to show the importance of discussion focus groups as a methodological strategy for the compilation of information in studies with institutionalized adolescents who have lived on the streets. At the same time, it aims to show the value of this technique in approaching the topic of sexual health with this population, since it allows for flexible and reflexive researcher-participant and participant-participant interaction. The value of this methodological strategy is supported in this article through accounts and results obtained during the implementation of a study conducted with institutionalized adolescents between 2013 and 2014. We expect these results will reduce the beliefs of professionals regarding the limitations of the strategy to address issues related to the sexual health of this type of population. The results are divided into four categories: knowledge and perceptions of HIV and STIs, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), the language used in SRH, and access to and use of information and communications technology (ICT). Thus, this paper clearly shows the contribution and potential of the strategy for addressing the issue, approaching and interacting with adolescents who have lived on the street. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the scientific production published between 2010 and 2016 in the databases of free access and restricted, on labor and occupational health in informal workers. Methodology: this paper presents a review of the scientific literature on work and health in informal workers, published in the free databases and restricted access. This descriptive study is developed from bibliometric indicators: content, affiliation of the authors, methodology and productivity. Results: It took 71 units of analysis that met the inclusion criteria. In the study, the 32 % of the articles develop topics related to the working conditions and health,the economy activity various in different sectors and categorized as informal activities, where street vendors and waste pickers. Analyzed studies identify different risks and its impact on the associated health working conditions, in terms of labor characteristics lack of affiliation to the social security system, long working hours and violation of the rights stands. The main reasons for admission to informality include the inability to be employed in the formal sector. Mostly the authors contributing to this issue are transient. Colombia provides 45 % of the total production on this topic. It highlighted in 2013 as the largest publication. Conclusions: It is necessary to develop studies on health and safety education, or appropriation of labor rights and creating guides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the human act of interpreting and its role in scientific research as an activity that generates theoretically oriented versions. It mentions some of the questioning directed toward the modern Western scientific views as well as the new epistemological perspectives that have been rising from the more critical trends of qualitative research. These acknowledge the transcendence of the researchers' interpretive commitment as they build their versions of the reality that they are studying. Likewise, the paper presents some instances of the problems that arise when conducting research in the field of health sciences. To conclude, some notes on the inescapable commitment of the researcher in his capacity of interpreter, and its multiple consequences on the construction of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper was prepared in the context of the VI Ibero- American Congress of Qualitative Health Research, held in Medellín, Colombia, from October 15 to 17, 2014. The central topic was the ethical and social justice responsibility ingrained in Qualitative Health Research (QHR). One of the main topics in this regard was the achievement of quality in training and in QHR products. My purpose in this paper is to ground and show the ethical responsibility and the concern for social justice that are inherent to Qualitative Critical Health Research. Additionally, I argue that training quality researchers and producing quality pieces of QHR is an ethical responsibility of every researcher. In this paper I also identify some of the conditions under which we perform our research in Ibero-America that should be improved. I also argue about the importance of digging into our human Ibero-American roots in order to find ways to reverse these conditions, focusing in some of the problems of the training of researchers and production of qualitative works capable of transcending within the fields of health and disease, which currently dominated by medical-biological positivist thinking tied to market interests. Lastly, this paper is a result of theoretical, epistemological, methodological, and practical reflection that emerged from my conversations with authors, colleagues and from its confrontation with practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative research is a very useful methodological strategy for health-related professions, and public health is no stranger to the implementations of these designs. Objective: to describe the phenomenological method and its techniques from the hermeneutic perspective of Heidegger. Methodology: this paper presents an analysis of Martin Heidegger's interpretive phenomenology and proposes various qualitative research techniques for applying this methodological design as an alternative for public health. Results: we describe the epoché, intentionality, reduction, constitution, the analysis process and the manner in which results are presented in a phenomenological study design. Conclusion: this paper's phenomenological proposal suggests taking an epistemological position in the light of Heidegger's hermeneutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to analyze the epistemological trends in public health in comparison with the possibilities of physiotherapy actions. Methodology: the literature was identified through the exploratory systematic review proposed by Manchado. Three databases were used to this end. Likewise, the quality of the papers was assessed using two scales: Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network and JADAD. The central analysis categories were the models of the health-disease process. The initial search yielded 118 papers, of which 39 were taken into account for the study. Results and discussion: it was found that public health has had different epistemological trends that are explained by socio-political and legal changes in countries and professions. We also found a conceptual evolution that moves beyond the biological aspects in favor of social, interdisciplinary and complex approaches; however, there is still evidence of the prevalence of the epidemiological model in the interventions. This may be associated with young professions such as physiotherapy, which, despite having emerged with a purely rehabilitative approach, has been expanding its fields of practice in order to participate in public health activities. However, this participation is incipient and its impact on practice is not strong enough. Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies that make it possible to bring knowledge into practice. This will allow physiotherapy to contribute, from its own subject of study, to an integrated approach to the health of the population in order to ensure that they are appropriating their health conditions for their wellbeing and quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present the challenges of research in occupational health psychology, particularly work stress, which is one of the issues of greatest development in this discipline. This paper describes the key conceptual elements of work stress. Furthermore, the difficulties of research in this field are identified and methodological suggestions are presented for enriching research on this issue. Intervention programs in this area are analyzed comparing approaches, designs and effective results. Finally, guidelines are proposed to improve research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introducción: Although there have been major advances in child mortality reduction, these advances have shown important territorial inequalities. Distance from residency to the closest health care center have been identified as a potential explanatory factor to those differences. Objective: To update systematic reviews about the effect of distance to health care facilities on under five mortality with papers published until May, 2015. Methodology: A systematic review of the literature and a meta-analyisis were performed following the PRISMA guideline. Estimations were made with a random effects model. Heterogeneity and potential biases were analyzed. Results: Reside farther than 5 km away from the closest health care facility is associated with a greater risk of death in perinatal OR 2,76 (CI95% 1,80 - 4,23), neonatal OR 1,62 (CI95% 1,33 - 1,96), infant OR 1,31 (CI95% 1,16 - 1,48) and child period OR 1,57 (CI95% 1,29 - 1,92) and overall ages OR 1,63 (IC95% 1,41 - 1,88). Conclusion: We highlight the importance of considering a geographical distribution of the health care facilities that allow children residing in farther areas lower death risk, particularly during the first month of live. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is show the link between some ways of understanding epidemiology (modern epidemiology, american and european social epidemiology and latinoamerican social epidemiology) and some theories about social justice in a framework of two politics tradition: the liberalism and the critical theory of society, with the purpose to provide elements to the epistemologic, etic and politic discussion of the epidemiology as a scientific discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a model of spatial proximity to roads, industrial uses of land and green areas, to determine concentrations of particulate matter and locate air quality monitoring sites in urban areas. The model uses monthly average concentration of PM10 (µgm/m³) measured at nine monitoring sites in the city of Medellin between January 2003 and December 2008. With these data, monthly maps were calculated using geostatistical interpolation methods with J-Bessel semivariograms to characterize the concentration of PM10. Three factors of spatial proximity (to main roads, industries and green areas) were calculated along with one combined factor. They were then multiplied by the concentration maps. With this result, a network of monitoring sites was proposed for Medellín. The Spatial analysis techniques and the proximity model allow for the assessment of the distribution of the contaminant on the territory, highlighting the effect of intersections and industrial areas on high concentrations and the dampening effect of green areas. This work may complement the existing regulatory provisions in Colombia for locating critical monitoring sites of the air quality surveillance systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper focuses on the research groups registered in the Colciencias platform from January 2005 to April 2012 in order to analyze their ability to conduct research on the social determinants of health (SDH) as well as the opinion of the coordinators of such groups. Methodology: a descriptive observational study focusing on the Colciencias Scienti platform (which holds information on Colombian research groups) and particularly on aspects such as the groups, the researchers and the SDH-related research products. The study was complemented with questionnaires, focus groups and a study on the national system for research. In addition, researchers signed an informed consent form before participating in the study. Results: the 65 groups registered in Colciencias' Health Sciences Program (6%) have published 123 products in the form of scientific papers written in Spanish (48%). Moreover, the predominant studies are those conducted with demographically relevant populations, focusing on health systems, health inequity and prevalent diseases, and based on empirical and analytical methods, as well as the network projects of national scope. The difficulties identified were: scarce political and institutional support for local and national research on the SDH and reduced interaction with policy makers and with other groups speaking other languages. Conclusions: studies based on the approach proposed by the Commission on Social Determinants of Health in 2005 were predominant. Recommendations: it is essential to strengthen the ability to conduct research on the SDH using different approaches-particularly the Latin American approaches-; likewise collaborative network projects should be developed and collective actions should be taken which affect the health research policies for equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of health has undergone a number of transformations. Today, the concept of social determinants of health is promoted globally; for this reason, different countries have included it in their health-related public policies. Colombia has embraced this concept in both the national development program and the decennial public policy health program. Furthermore, the concept of rurality has changed as well, which in turn influences the governmental plans and decisions affecting communities. The research described in this paper focused on reviewing rurality and health system access in Colombia together with the rural development proposals expressed in different government plans. The objective of this work is to reflect on two issues: i) is it possible to maintain a security health system like the sgsss in the rural areas of Colombia? ii) Can this health care system address the effects on life conditions and the differences in terms of basic social needs? Finally, this document aims to propose new research and approaches to think about the rural context and its relationship with health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After decades of criticism against inferential techniques based on statistical significance tests, which mainly reject the socalled null hypothesis, and in spite of the remarkable consensus among professional statisticians, this resource remains prevalent in both biomedical publications (including public health journals) and introductory statistics courses. Among the many problems identified by the most prominent specialists, three of them are the most obvious and easy to understand: that these tests do not contribute to the actual enterprise of science, that the answers to the questions that are addressed are known in advance and that their results depend critically on an element that is external to the domain that is being studied: sample size. This paper discusses in detail these limitations, illustrates their pernicious presence in current research and evaluates the reasons for the survival of the senselessness in this matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to describe some of the theoretical and methodological perspectives of the environment as a health determinant, this is a contribution from the conceptual standpoint to this complex field in constant construction and deconstruction. Methodology: the subject was reviewed through an analysis of the literature performed after finding and reading official documents and scientific papers that made it possible to structure the text around the subject. Results and discussion: throughout history, in various discourses and in individual and collective experiences, the environment has been present in the continuum of the health-disease process. Hygiene and sanitation solve the problem in a scenario where there are risks and hazards that should be identified in order to be controlled or removed. However, since the last decades of the twentieth century, the economic interests, along with the global and local environmental damage and the need to preserve health, have caused the environment to be understood, at least theoretically and methodologically, as a determinant of health. This conception in turn implies considering mankind not as the master of nature but as part of it. Conclusions: throughout time it has been observed and experienced that the anthropic interventions of humankind over nature have been disrespectful and have led it to consistently move from the status of victimizer of its surrounding to that of victim of the constructed environments. Environmental health models built with a stronger focus on health should be integrated with other disciplines for the analysis of complex situations in environmental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a critical reflection on the idea of culture in the discourse of public health. Using some theoretical tools proposed by Arturo Escobar from the standpoint of anthropology, we explore the existing tension between traditional medicine and modern medicine in the field of health. In addition, and based on a short review of experiences, we suggest thinking on hybrid systems for public health that actively integrate local perspectives into the construction of knowledge and health care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health policy of Bogotá (2004 - 2011) proposed a management which aimed to guarantee the right to health through a primary health care strategy. This policy was implemented under open controversy with the national policy, which was based on assurance and focalization mechanisms. Some public hospitals of Bogotá underwent institutional transformation processes in order to adopt the new sectoral policy. A case study was thus conducted to show the particular experience of one of these hospitals. This project made it possible to identify the processes involved in the management of the Primary Health Care Model of the Hospital del Sur Hospital in Bogotá between 2008 and 2011. The study showed the factors that made it feasible as well as the hindrances, tensions and contradictions that arose during the process. The methodology included a literature review, the creation of narratives and semi-structured interviews with key actors. This paper describes the model's construction process, the devices that facilitated its development and the contradictions that emerged during the attempt to transform the management of a public hospital from the perspective of the right to health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary health care is analyzed as the alternative through which health systems will recover the role they had during the late twentieth century: working with other sectors to implement health promotion actions to improve the users' quality of life and equity. A renewal is presented in recognition of the efforts during the final century to establish primary care policies and programs as the core of the health systems, emphasizing the reorientation of health services. This paper discusses the principles and methods established by the new proposal for primary health care. This renewal proposal raises expectations regarding its return to the past, not only as a strategy but also because it raises hopes at a time of global crisis whose impact on health services is evident. The first question posed here is: Is there really a renewal? The discussion focuses on the following topics: PHC and the deterioration of health indicators in many areas in the world, social inequalities and health inequities, the weaknesses in the declarations of Alma Ata understood as "medicine for the poor," the renewal of PHC as opposed to the critical health status in countries and the opposing progress of the neoliberal globalization, PHC and the political conceptions of the Right, PHC and the reform to the reform of the health systems; coordination of PHC with health promotion and public health, the changes in the contexts and the new economic crisis in this global event. The paper concludes with a call to revitalize the processes of the health systems from a political standpoint, and to rethink the sanitary reforms of the health systems basing the reasoning on primary health care, which is the focus of their transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to contribute to the current discussion about the nature and disciplinary position of public health in regards to child labor. Due to its magnitude, consequences, and the way in which it becomes a daily living situation for children and adolescents, both social sciences and public health are becoming increasingly interested in this phenomenon. This paper proposes a conceptual and epistemological problematization using different approaches which aims at explaining the phenomenon of child labor from the point of view of public health and governmental and non-governmental organizations. Furthermore, a conceptual alternative is proposed which approaches the issue of child labor from categories such as nurturing, human development, alternative public health, and narrative research. The latter is considered as a methodological and epistemological current that overcomes some limitations found in abolitionism and protectionism, two currents that have tried to approach and to explain child labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to present the state of the art regarding the content of the public mental health policies currently in force in South America in order to establish an overview of the scope and limitations of the regulations on the subject in the region. Methodology: a documentary study with a hermeneutic approach explaining the relationships between the contents of the public policies for mental health and the context of the South American countries. For the analysis, we included normative documents of the countries, e.g. agreements, resolutions and acts. Similarly, academic papers from the period between 2003 and 2013 were included. These made it possible to describe and analyze the research subject. Results: countries such as Colombia, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Uruguay have current regulations (agreements, resolutions and acts) supporting the content of public policies in regards to mental health. On the other hand, Chile, Bolivia and Venezuela base their policies on administrative mechanisms (programs, plans and projects) without enforcing mandatory compliance. Conclusion: the notion of mental health underlying each national policy emphasizes health promotion and prevention equally, and is based on a positive conception of well-being that highlights the active role of subjects and populations as well as the capabilities and liberties available. Nevertheless, their resources, strategies, actions and goals are based on a biomedical model that prioritizes the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the relationship between the proposals of sustainable development and healthy cities as strategies arising from health promotion. To achieve this, social and inter-sect oral participation makes governance an essential requirement for the construction of sustainable and healthy cities that lead to more health equity and improve the quality of life of their populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to update the information obtained from the study entitled "the research capabilities on Social Determinants of Health of research groups registered in Colciencias, Colombia (2005-2012)" using the information recorded in the Scienti Colciencias platform in the period between 2013 and 2014 and the contributions from leading research groups as a source of study. Methodology: a descriptive, observational study based on information recorded in the Colciencias database of research groups and scientific production on social determinants of health, "SDH". The historical and political context affecting national health-related research was reviewed in order to identify the reasons behind the weakening of the SDH research capabilities. Results: of the 65 existing groups that are registered in the Health Sciences Program in Colciencias for 2012, 3 (4.61%) are no longer linked to Colciencias. The remaining groups produced 17 scientific papers between 2013 and 2014, 11 of which (64.7%) were written in Spanish and the remaining 6 (35.3%) in English. In general, groups continue to favor the studies on Social Determinants of Health, Health Systems and Primary Health Care; emphasis on health inequalities, stress and cancer was observed. The study of water has emerged as a key issue among health research groups, and the development of networked projects at the national level has continued. Conclusions: studies using the approach proposed by the Commission on Social Determinants of Health in 2005 are prevalent. The criteria for allocating resources to research favor groups recognized by Colciencias and with broad experience. This strengthens only a part of the field of research because it also generates inequalities between groups due to institutional and geographic location, research topics, group size and research project scope. Studies comparing research capabilities in Latin America are required, as are those explaining the predominance of topics and approaches in health research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the result of a theoretical study aimed at problematizing the current procedure of using qualitative research in public health and justifying it through the type of its object ("qualitative"), thus grounding on a dichotomous conception of reality that gives rise to a dualistic qualitative/ quantitative nature of research. I start by acknowledging the existence of various axiological referents which determine the diversity in qualitative research on public health and in the conceptions of social justice underlying the different schools of thought in the discipline. Since we don't conduct research in a disciplinary vacuum, I built two theoretical "edges" of public health that support different sets of values, to discuss how to think about qualitative research in different axiological scenarios. One edge corresponds to what can be called the classic Anglo-Saxon perspective of public health and the other has been constructed by taking into account the three Latin American public health schools of thought. The analysis was structured by contrasting the differences of the meaning that these two "edges" give to reality, science, the object of research, rationality, society, and social justice. This comparison made it possible to see how the instrumental perspective of qualitative research focused on the types of objects and on a dichotomous universe has no meaning for the dialectical and hermeneutical conceptions of reality. It is argued that the similarity between some trends of qualitative research and these Latin American schools of thought of public health is due more to the congruence among related sets of values, which serve as principles, than to the type of object. In this sense, an approach to research based on principles (values) is proposed, which overcomes the "quali" vs. "quanti" dichotomous views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I present the gnoseological, ontological, epistemological and methodological foundations of an Autobiographical Narrative Research (ANR) approach grounded on Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutical phenomenology. It is a novel proposal for the field of narrative research on health, and is characterized by the following traits:1) Conversational interviews represent an appropriate route for building "good stories", preserving a fair exercise of memory; ii) An autobiography is the result of the singular memory of remembrances, silences and forgotten events interwoven with other memories from contemporaries, predecessors and successors; iii) Interpretation, which is displayed in the "Hermeneutical arch", is carried out through the triple mimesis of the account, namely: Mimesis 1 or prefiguration, which provides pre-understanding of the narrated actions; Mimesis 2 or configuration, which explains how the story was built and answers the question: what does this tale tell?; and Mimesis 3 or re-figuration, which specifies where this narration is going, i.e. what new world opens up?; iv) The story reveals the identity of the narrator, who appears before others as a being in motion, unique and singular; likewise, it provides, from practical wisdom and the moral judgment present in the situation, a rational narrative that is beyond the theoretical and rational use of reason and science. The ANR provides, as an ethical and political challenge, new knowledge and thinking built with the narrators' own voices by means of the comprehension of meanings of experiences related to health and life experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of qualitative research goes beyond procedures and techniques. In health care it is acknowledged as a specialized area bearing ethical and emotional components. Training in qualitative research implies both intellectual work and the task of molding a character; in other words: a way of being. In this kind of research, the question involves both being and doing. This paper invites to reflect on the training of qualitative researchers. Learning qualitative research is a situated and reflexive social practice in which tacit and formal knowledge must be gathered. There are at least four conditions promoting its learning: 1) time -its study must be constant-2) failure, 3) relationships with others in a collaborative environment and 4) a master acting as a mediator between tacit and explicit knowledge. These conditions occur within the execution of a research project. However, there are three difficulties that educators and students of qualitative research commonly face: 1). the context of training, 2). pre-conceived ideas and 3). the need to sustain the desire to know over time. Who you are when learning the craft is critical in the training process; methods are what we make (out) of them. Research is an embodied practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobility is the greatest challenge for human civilization. Objective: to contribute to the conceptual discussion of the topic in two of its basic dimensions: safety and sustainability. Methodology: the authors reviewed Spanish, English and Portuguese literature on the term mobility and its relationship with road safety in sustainable transportation. Books, reports and scientific papers from 2010 onward were reviewed. Likewise, 25 texts were identified which were used to produce argumentative syntheses. Results: being able to move safely and with sustainability has implications in the physical and mental health of individuals and populations. It is a right of the citizens, a constitutional obligation and the duty of the State. It is also a determinant of welfare and development with a defined paradigmatic and historical background related to the environmental, economic and social sustainability, which is threatened by the occupation of the soil, the concentration of people and the motorization of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: this paper presents a critical review of the role of health professionals in primary health care. Methodology: narrative review concepts of primary health care, their connections with different models of health, the role of the health team in both the Primary Health Care and its various approaches. The revision expands the functions of the healthcare professional in this field and the general practitioner, in particular, as well as their actions and training. Discussion: it is argued from some questions about what the role of health professionals in the system and the role it should play in primary care and the organization of health services. It is particularized in the Colombian health system and the emphasis is on the change that is required of the general practitioner, historically linked to the clinic and the hegemony of the biomedical model. Conclusion: a sketch is presented of the formation to the new realities and demands at the present time, three-dimensional macro, meso and micro levels of the socio healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Colombia, cancer is a public health problem on the rise that has major psycho-affective, social and economic repercussions. This poses a challenge for the health system. According to the statistics presented by Globocan, in 2012 approximately 104 people died each day in Colombia from this disease, and 196 developed it. This requires generating timely, effective and articulated interventions to promote protective factors, increase early detection, reduce avoidable disability and mortality, improve the quality of life of affected patients and ensure cost-effective health system performance. Although brief figures are presented to review the status of cancer in the country, this paper's authors do not intend to provide statistical data that has already been made available by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Health and the Cancer Population Records of Colombia. Instead, this article aims to broadly describe the progress and developments of the National Cancer Observatory (NCO) of Colombia within the National Information System on Cancer (SINCan). It also describes the cancer information sources available in SISPRO, the set of indicators to monitor the status of this disease in the Country, the analysis plans and the information output mechanisms (channels of access and dissemination of evidence and relevant publications) as the necessary tools to properly manage the knowledge on mortality, morbidity, health service access and actions to reduce cancer inequalities in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a research carried out in 2009 and 2010 with individuals from the political, technical and social fields who participated in the Public Policy for Food and Nutritional Improvement created by the Government of Antioquia. This program was conceived as a model of participatory construction that promotes health and welfare. Objective: to understand the participation process of different people in the design of Ordinance 17, which establishes the Food and Nutritional Improvement Public Policy. Methodology: an interpretive instrumental case study was conducted using a qualitative approach. The information obtained from interviews with the participants and from the literature review was heuristically analyzed. Results: individuals from political, technical-methodological and social areas participated actively in this project. Likewise, they made several contributions at different moments of the construction of the Food and Nutritional Improvement Public Policy for Antioquia. Conclusions: The Plan and The Policy became a referent for the construction of other policies, plans or similar programs. They were significant because it transformed the community and was legitimate; even though there were difficulties during the process, they proved the importance of having intersectoral work and an integral view of such complex social problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a reflection which seeks to stimulate discussion and debate concerning the different meanings that the concepts of generalization and inference can take on, based on the approach or perspective that is being employed. For this purpose the importance and usage which has been accorded to these concepts within the field of classic-modern epidemiology is taken into consideration, especially in order to define internal and external validity issues and to formulate hypotheses. Next the main arguments are presented and are defended by Clifford Geertz from his epistemological perspective of interpretive ethnography and based on his theoretical conception of culture. Subsequently the ideas maintained by Juan Samaja are presented from his epistemological and methodological approach for research into health, advocating primarily for abductive reasoning, and not simply inductive and deductive, which have until now been privileged in logic studies. Finally a discussion and conclusions are presented, highlighting that from these three perspectives public health has the opportunity to expand its new knowledge generation processes and to better understand the conditions for good collective health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: the essay explores the changes based on market mechanisms introduced in the reforms of the last quarter century. Methodology: market conditions are taken as an analytical axis determining the configurations and results of health systems seen today in the majority of countries. The analysis is complemented by the presence or absence of regulatory mechanisms which reduce the negative impact of market imperfections on health. Discussion: this paper aims to characterize various health care market types while taking into account the function of the State, and its articulation within the public-private sector after analyzing some of the types of health system that are related to the market models. Conclusion: the market mechanisms introduced in the health reforms in the last quarter century in most Latin American countries have transformed health services in favor of the transnational financial market, thus generating inequity, inefficiency, corruption and financial imbalance in the health system, which in turn has a negative effect in the health conditions of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical diseases are infections caused by mosquitoes and flies which transmit parasites, bacteria or viruses of people. One of these diseases is dengue, which particularly attacks those living in poor or marginalized conditions, proliferating in places lacking basic sanitation, which has significantly increased the number of cases. Objective: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used in this paper for the purpose of modeling the spatial distribution patterns of tropical diseases. Monthly reports on dengue from the years 2008, 2009 and 2011 in the Aburrá valley, under the jurisdiction of Medellín, Colombia, were taken as a case study. Methodology: Dengue cases of which the Medellín Health Secretary was notified were spatially located using the addresses of the patients' homes. ArcGis 10 software was used to geo-spatially locate the cases, while IDW and Slope spatial analysis tools were employed to demonstrate that the dengue phenomenon complies with the principle of spatial auto-correlation. Results and discussion: The disease shows spatial patterns in the south-west sector of Medellín; the Altavista township and the Belén and Guayabal municipalities, and it would be of great interest to study this phenomenon with environmental variables and to have more tools available for decision-making in activities for preventing dengue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: the essay explores the changes based on market mechanisms introduced in the reforms of the last quarter century. Methodology: market conditions are taken as an analytical axis determining the configurations and results of health systems seen today in the majority of countries. The analysis is complemented by the presence or absence of regulatory mechanisms which reduce the negative impact of market imperfections on health. Discussion: this paper aims to characterize various health care market types while taking into account the function of the State, and its articulation within the public-private sector after analyzing some of the types of health system that are related to the market models. Conclusion: the market mechanisms introduced in the health reforms in the last quarter century in most Latin American countries have transformed health services in favor of the transnational financial market, thus generating inequity, inefficiency, corruption and financial imbalance in the health system, which in turn has a negative effect in the health conditions of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical diseases are infections caused by mosquitoes and flies which transmit parasites, bacteria or viruses of people. One of these diseases is dengue, which particularly attacks those living in poor or marginalized conditions, proliferating in places lacking basic sanitation, which has significantly increased the number of cases. Objective: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used in this paper for the purpose of modeling the spatial distribution patterns of tropical diseases. Monthly reports on dengue from the years 2008, 2009 and 2011 in the Aburrá valley, under the jurisdiction of Medellín, Colombia, were taken as a case study. Methodology: Dengue cases of which the Medellín Health Secretary was notified were spatially located using the addresses of the patients' homes. ArcGis 10 software was used to geospatially locate the cases, while IDW and Slope spatial analysis tools were employed to demonstrate that the dengue phenomenon complies with the principle of spatial autocorrelation. Results and discussion: The disease shows spatial patterns in the south-west sector of Medellín; the Altavista township and the Belén and Guayabal municipalities, and it would be of great interest to study this phenomenon with environmental variables and to have more tools available for decision-making in activities for preventing dengue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discussion on global justice, i.e. the discussion on the transformation of the economic and political relationships between the richest and poorest societies, is vital for public health today for two reasons. First, because there is a well-documented increase in health inequalities which resulted from the process of economic globalization; and second, because two approaches for managing these health inequalities have become particularly visible and are fully related to the field of work of social health: the social determinants of health approach, proposed by the WHO, and the social determination of health approach proposed by Latin American Social Medicine. In this sense, this paper aims to analyze the views on global justice that each of these approaches adopts as well as their proposals for managing the health inequities that are generated in each case. We concluded that the texts of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health do not question or demand a change in the global economic and political relationships, whereas Latin American Social Medicine considers that, in order to advance in the elimination of global inequalities, an ethical questioning and a global restructuring of the power relationships are mandatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses some of the proposals existing in the contemporary debate about justice. In the first part, John Rawls' theory of justice at the international level is presented. In the second part, Jürgen Habermas' human rights approach is presented along with a discussion questioning the arguments advanced by these authors to oppose the cosmopolitan idea of a transformation of the international order on the basis of the demands of global economic justice. Finally, the last part shows the limits and views of Thomas Pogge's global justice proposal [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate between social "determinants" or "determination" of health, fostered by the Latin American Social Medicine movement after the proposal of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, involves analyzing the tension between determinism and indeterminism as well as its implications for conceiving causality from a historical and epistemological point of view. This paper presents some trends regarding the cosmological and epistemological view in the Western history of thought that have marked this debate. At the same time, it analyzes the tensions between monist / pluralist positions on the one hand, and deterministic / indeterministic on the other. Similarly, it analyzes their impact on the perception of subjects, the subject / nature relationship, and the role of human freedom, causality and randomness. The conclusions discuss a way out of the tensions and conflicts analyzed from a dialectic point of view to overcome a causal cosmologic view of reality in which there is room for the action of the subject as an agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the categories of determinism and indeterminism in the Public Health field and to establish the differences between these categories and that of the social determination proposed in the context of Latin American Public Health. It is suggested that both determinism and indeterminism are insufficient terms to explain the complexity of health and life, not only in the epistemic map but also in the framework of ethical analysis. Instead, the notion of determination is presented as a complex category that makes it possible to approach the problems related to health and life from their dialectic relationships with social, politic, cultural and economic conditions. Finally, some of the main differences between the Social determinants of health approach proposed by the WHO and the Social determination of health and life approach proposed by the Latin American Public Health are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the possibility of addressing the issue of identity construction from the standpoint of Pierre Bourdieu's field analysis. The question addressed in the review is "how is field theory applied to identity construction?" Initially, a brief overview of the micro/macro and action/structure integration in contemporary sociology is presented together with Bourdieu's field theory. Then, the concept of identity is presented from the standpoint of distinguishability. Finally, and as an example, the authors discuss the application of field analysis to the theoretical and methodological approach of the medical field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to analyze the evolution of the Capitation Payment (UPC for its Spanish name "unidad de pago por capitación") as well as the methodologies and variables for defining it that have existed in the Colombian Social Security System in Health since its implementation between 1995 and 2011. Methodology: An observational, longitudinal descriptive study. The reference population was made up of all the papers reviewed, including books, journal articles, databases, and official presentations containing the key concepts. Results: It was found that the Capitation Payment (UPC) is valued as an essential element to maintain the financial balance of the health system. From 1995 to 2011 there were a number of methodologies for defining this payment. They ranged from a definition based only on the financial balance and the availability of resources, to a technical study using statistical tools to annually adjust the value of the UPC. Conclusions: The origin of the UPC can be attributed to the system's orientation toward a market scheme and to the convergence of three basic theories. The variations in the value of the UPC have always resulted in a similar value year after year; this is why even if the methodology for defining it changed, the proportions will be the same when compared to previous years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for effective legal protection of the elderly with disabilities is currently being discussed. In this paper, the author analyzes if the labor protection mechanisms for these people are physically, psychologically, and sensorially adequate. Likewise, the author analyzes if the constitutional and legal regulations aimed at protecting the elderly must ensure the satisfaction of the basic needs of such people and the effective enjoyment of a dignified life in terms of labor and pensions. With this in mind, extensive and thorough review and interpretation of the regulations and constitutional jurisprudence was conducted in order to determine if the aging-related policies included in our Political Charter are being developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of public health, mental health has had a great deal of relevance. This concept has been used extensively in the professional, academic, and political fields. Despite that, the different definitions of mental health face significant epistemological and practical problems. These difficulties are encountered by those who try to specify the meaning of "mental", the relationship between "health" and "mental", and, consequently, how research and intervention actions are to be carried out in the field of mental health. In practice, the orientation of actions and research involving mental health is not based on "universal" definitions in the field of public health. It is rather based on conceptions constructed from different approaches to the health-disease issue. This paper discusses the conceptions of mental health that have been configured from the biomedical, behavioral, and socio-economic approaches, the notions of "mind" underlying these conceptions, and their implications for intervention in the field of public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to unravel some theoretical and factual elements required to implement more effective health promotion strategies and practices in the field of health services whilst following the great challenges that globalization has imposed on the health systems, which are inevitably expressed in the local context (glocalization). Methodology: a narrative review taking into account the concepts of globalization and health promotion in relation to health determinants. The authors approach some courses of action and strategies for health promotion based on the social principles and universal values that guide health promotion, health service reorientation and primary healthcare, empowerment, social participation, and inter-sectoral and social mobilization. Discussion: the discussion focuses on the redirection of health promotion services in relation to the wave of health reforms that has spread throughout the world under the neoliberal rule. The author also discusses health promotion, its ineffectiveness, and the quest for renewal. Likewise, the author sets priorities for health promotion in relation to social determinants. Conclusion: the current global order, in terms of international relations, is not consistent with the ethical principles of health promotion. In this paper, the author advocates for the implementation of actions to change the social and physical life conditions of people based on changes in the use of power in society and the appropriate practice of politics in the context of globalization in order to achieve the effectiveness of the actions of health promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: this paper presents the results of the 2007 National Health Survey's (ENS) module I, which deals with territorial management of health regarding the capacity to manage health in the municipalities and to characterize their sanitary infrastructure and public health surveillance. Methodology: a descriptive retrospective study was conducted with a representative sample of 238 Colombian municipalities from all the categories, 223 of which answered the call. The source of information was the ENS/2007, which was applied to the health secretaries of the sample's municipalities. Results: more public and private health providers and health insurance companies are available in the municipalities belonging to the special category and to category 1. The sanitary infrastructure is insufficient but larger in the municipalities from the special category, particularly in the urban area. Public health surveillance for maternal and perinatal mortality, and for ADD and ARI is higher in the municipalities from the special category and from category 1. Conclusions: in spite of the efforts of the municipalities to improve health, the results show important inequalities between the rural and urban areas, and between the municipalities from the special category and the municipalities from other categories. This situation calls for larger investments for the sanitary infrastructure, the public health surveillance systems, and the programs of the less developed municipalities in order to prevent inequalities from becoming progressive and to obtain better profits in terms of the people's health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lifestyles have been studied by different disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, and epidemiology. Both the term and the greatest developments in this regard stem from the social and cultural sciences, which consider lifestyles as group behavior patterns upon which social structure has remarkable influence. Epidemiology has used the concepts of lifestyle and health extensively, but with a more restricted meaning, associating it with behaviors that people assume in a rational way and that can be hazardous for their health. In this paper we analyze some common traits of recently published studies on lifestyle in regards to the suffering of some diseases. We conclude that a shift toward contextual considerations can be observed. Such considerations overcome the strictly individual perspective regarding lifestyles and health. Nevertheless, additional insight from other disciplines, especially from the social sciences, is required. Likewise, theoretical frameworks linking individual decisions to contextual constraints or possibilities are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introducción: Según la Organización Panamericana de la Salud, las enfermedades tropicales desatendidas son un grupo de enfermedades parasitarias e infecciosas que generalmente se caracterizan por la inversión históricamente baja del sector farmacéutico y que afectan principalmente a las poblaciones que viven en condiciones socioeconómicas pobres, con bajos ingresos, bajo nivel educativo, vivienda precaria, carencia de acceso a servicios básicos como agua potable y saneamiento básico, en zonas de conflicto o en condiciones ambientales deterioradas, y con barreras en el acceso a los servicios de salud; en Colombia se suma dentro de este contexto el hecho de haber sido objeto de violencia. Objetivo: Diseñar junto con las comunidades que viven en contextos de alta vulnerabilidad y violencia, alternativas y estrategias que las oriente hacia un buen vivir, a partir de una iniciativa pedagógica. Entendemos el buen vivir como un escenario de pensamiento intercultural que busca construir alternativas al desarrollo[1]. Este parte desde el manejo del territorio por parte de las comunidades que lo habitan en el marco de sus propias cosmovisiones. Dentro del buen vivir se reconoce la diversidad de los saberes y se busca el encuentro de culturas. Metodología: Se planteó como una de las estrategias, la adopción de un municipio de zona rural dispersa, con población en condiciones de alta vulnerabilidad para complementar los conocimientos de enfermedades desatendidas[2]in the Amazon region of Colombia. Methodology: search, collection, critical reading and analysis of the contents of the comprehensive life development plans of four indigenous organizations of the Vaupés department. In addition, these plans were compared with the municipal and departmental territory development plans. Results: the comprehensive life development plans and the territory development plans fail to develop their health-related components strategically. Furthermore, the health sections of the plans are unspecific enunciations appearing in several parts of the documents, which hinders their monitoring and evaluation. Discussion: the territorial institutions and indigenous organizations have shortcomings in the planning processes used to create the health components of their plans. If this situation persists, it will be impossible to implement the interventions required to improve the health situation of the indigenous ethnic groups of the area. Governmental, non-governmental and academic institutions should take action in a decided and combined effort in order to improve this situation. (English. En concertación con la Secretaría de Salud Departamental del Vaupés se seleccionó la comunidad de Wacará. A partir de un plan de trabajo, se desarrollaron una serie de iniciativas de manera concertada y participativa con la comunidad. Las iniciativas fueron priorizadas y presentadas para aprobación por la comunidad indígena[3]can be complex. This framework synthesis aimed to identify issues that hindered Indigenous peoples from accessing primary health care and then explore how, if at all, these were addressed by Indigenous health care services. To be included in this framework synthesis papers must have presented findings focused on access to (factors relating to Indigenous peoples, their families and their communities[4]. Se manejaron en su mayoría entrevistas semiestructuradas y formularios preestablecidos durante las visitas domiciliarias por parte del equipo médico. Resultados: Se establecieron dos tipos de soluciones, unas a coto plazo y otras a largo plazo, la propuesta de un proyecto que apunte al buen vivir de las comunidades de esta zona. La priorización en la atención de las enfermedades tropicales que más aquejan a la comunidad[5]. Se consolidó un grupo de investigación interdisciplinario para la implementación de un proyecto (todavía en curso) por medio del cual se buscan crear espacios para la creación de proyectos propios en el marco de la salud propia y tradicional, la investigación en medicina botánica, la creación de Planes de Vida, la participación de la mujer y la salud mental. Conclusiones: La creación de proyectos propios, por medio de la construcción o adaptación de herramientas desde lo local ha sido importante dentro del proceso. En el marco del buen vivir, es una prioridad para el grupo poder reconocer a las autoridades locales y a los habitantes de la comunidad como líderes y gestores del proyecto. La salud mental, la participación de la mujer y la medicina botánica, y la salud tradicional, han permitido reconocer grupos poblaciones específicos que se han fortalecido por medio de los talleres y conversatorios. Estos datos son preliminares, la investigación se encuentra en curso en la actualidad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]