Diseño de un modelo de gestión integral y calidad para fortalecer en equipos territoriales de salud pública capacidades y desempeño de las funciones esenciales en salud pública

At the international level, and particularly from the emerging field of research on public health systems and services, since the 1970s an emphasis has been placed on the fundamental role of public health organizations at the local level in the development of actions to promote health and prevent disease. In the Colombian case, the evidence generated in this field is still incipient, which could influence the development of interventions to strengthen the public health capacity of these organizations. Although progress has been made in the adoption of regulatory and technical guidelines to promote public health management at all levels of government, the role of territorial entities to achieve better results in population health could be limited given that not all entities could respond on equal terms to the challenges involved in adequate public health management, including those aspects related to the essential public health functions (EPHF). This working paper aims to qualitatively examine the development of the EPHF at the territorial level in Colombia as an input for the development of a comprehensive and quality management model for the capacities and performance of these functions, emphasizing in health promotion and disease prevention.