Analyzing determinants of social practices in infectious diseases among Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities: A participatory diagnosis of malaria, tuberculosis, and leishmaniasis in Colombia.

Infectious diseases pose major public health challenges worldwide, particularly in developing countries, where their impact is more severe. This article presents a participatory social diagnosis to analyze the determinants of health-related social practices associated with infectious diseases (malar...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Martha Milena Bautista Gomez, Laura Sofia Zuluaga, Marcos Medina Tabares
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLOS Global Public Health
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0004918
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Summary:Infectious diseases pose major public health challenges worldwide, particularly in developing countries, where their impact is more severe. This article presents a participatory social diagnosis to analyze the determinants of health-related social practices associated with infectious diseases (malaria, tuberculosis, and leishmaniasis) among Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in Pueblo Rico, Colombia. We explore how social determinants, attitudes, and knowledge influence health-related practices. Our findings show that each disease is shaped by a different dominant factor: malaria by structural conditions, leishmaniasis by attitudes, and tuberculosis by limited knowledge, while all are affected by distrust in the health system and low awareness of self-care. We argue that health practices are complex, historically structured social practices, so their change requires a long-term holistic health approach. Through this research, we seek to understand health practices related to infectious diseases and to inform the design of more effective and culturally grounded interventions.
ISSN:2767-3375