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The history of physiotherapy in Latin America has received little attention thus far in the English-speaking literature. In this paper, we draw on narratives from activists, educators, and professional leaders who have been instrumental in shaping the development of physiotherapy in Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador. Physiotherapists in the Latin American countries faced many similar challenges, including developing physiotherapy in the shadow of medicine, overcoming conservative attitudes toward women professionals, and frequent social upheaval. The paper explores the disputed story of physiotherapy's origins in the polio epidemics, the influence of Swedish remedial gymnastics, and the educational colonialism of North American and European educators. We examine some of the effects of social unrest and trauma, military rule, and economic instability on the professions attempts to establish itself in the face of competition from other professions allied to medicine. And we consider the efforts taken to establish the profession's autonomy and its shifting relationship with the state. We employed two different methods for data collection to explore aspects of physiotherapy's history in Latin America from a political and socio-cultural context: 1) A reconstruction of memories from activist physiotherapists in Colombia, Ecuador, and Argentina, who have seen, lived, and promoted the development of physiotherapy in their own countries, gleaned from in-depth interviews; and 2) Analysis of secondary sources. Data were analyzed following the method described by Maynes, Pierce, and Laslett (2008), exploring personal narratives. Textual data were analyzed using documentary research (Prior, 2003) using thematic analysis, to inductively discover, and describe relevant themes about the two main guiding study questions. A constant comparative method as outlined by Boeije (2002) was used to form categories, establish boundaries, and discerning conceptual similarities between participants' narrative. Five physiotherapists were interviewed. One from Colombia, two from Argentina and two from Ecuador. Three main themes were identified: 'A Female Profession?', 'training and education', and 'Present Day in Argentina, Ecuador, and Colombia'. Tensions between the interests of the State, professionals, patients, cultures, urban and rural services, and practices are prevalent throughout physiotherapy in Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador. Operating within these tensions is very much the reality for physiotherapists in Latin America today. Multiple histories emerge from the research, opening up a space for a more nuanced, polyphonic reading of physiotherapy in Colombia, Ecuador, and Argentina than has been heard to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of formative research conducted from January to June 2020 in the Department of Atlántico, Caribbean region of Colombia, whose findings were used as inputs to design the national strategy for comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) outside school – Tírala Plena – including its curriculum. This is within the framework of the multi-country project coordinated by UNFPA and WHO aimed at generating evidence on the role of facilitators in the delivery of CSE in non-school contexts. The research was carried out in four municipalities in northern Colombia, in rural and marginal urban contexts with conditions of vulnerability for the adolescent population, including a strong presence of migrant populations from Venezuela. A total of 150 male and female adolescents ages 10–17 participated in the formative research. Workshops such as patchwork quilt, body mapping and talking maps were used as methods to gather information. The groups were divided by sex and age (10–13 years old and 14–17 years old). Knowledge, attitudes and social norms regarding adolescent pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus, and gender-based violence, were identified in adolescents (schooled and not schooled, but with minimal or no access to CSE). All of the above enabled us to establish a set of recommendations for the strengthening of the CSE strategy Tírala plena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although globally used as construction material in earthquake zones, adobes' low tensile and flexural strength produce brittle behavior and low ductility of structures under seismic loads. Adobe buildings are widespread in Colombian rural and urban areas: as monumental buildings or informal housing, theyrepresents an immeasurable architectural and cultural heritage. Albeit high Colombian seismic risk, national building regulations do not include earthen architecture references. The paper analyzes the most frequent seismic subsidence mechanisms of earthen architecture, adobe building retrofitting and its seismic behavior improvement via specific interventions. The main goal is to associate possible causes—due to common local adobe building practices—with failure mechanisms, to deduce which retrofitting strategies could reduce seismic effects into adobe structures. The research innovation lies in the effectiveness and feasibility evaluation of the retrofitting strategies through "sustainability" indicators, based on literature quantitative and qualitative data, and strictly related to rural Colombian conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease transmitted by sandflies that causes skin ulcers. In Colombia, this disease mainly affects rural populations and combatants of the armed conflict. The state management of leishmaniasis is pharmaceuticalized – centered on a highly toxic drug called Glucantime. Drawing on critical views of the pharmaceuticalization of public health and the implications of the massive use of drugs in colonial contexts and developing countries, this article establishes an interdisciplinary dialogue between biomedical literature and ethnographic data. I explore the consequences of a public health model based on an old, toxic, and potentially deadly pharmaceutical to control a mostly benign skin disease. I argue that while it is necessary to guarantee that all people have access to antileishmanial therapies, there remain dangers associated with Glucantime that puts into question its predominant use in Colombia. This case shows that pharmaceutical access alone, and drug-centered models in particular, not only represent limited views of public health but can have disastrous consequences for those affected by disease and marginalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Worldwide research trends on the prevalence of hearing loss within young rural populations are scarce. Current evidence suggests extended high-frequency audiometry could be a sensitive predictor to detect subclinical hearing loss. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hearing loss through conventional pure tone (0.25-8 kHz) and extended high-frequency (9-20 kHz) audiometry tests in a group of adolescents aged 13 to 19 years old from two rural areas of Colombia. A sociodemographic and associated factor for hearing loss questionnaire was applied. Design: Cross-sectional study. Study Sample: Three hundred sixty-six adolescents aged 13 to 19 years old from two rural municipalities in Colombia: Soracá, and Palmas del Socorro. Results: Hearing loss prevalence assessed through pure tone audiometry was 3.28% in right ears and 3.83% in left ears while through extended high-frequency audiometry was 14.21% and 13.11%, respectively. Associated factors found by the logistic regression were age (OR: 1.36; CI 95% 1.13-1.64) and obesity (OR: 3.74; CI 95% 1.07-13.11). Conclusions: Using 15 dB as the normal hearing threshold parameter for audiometric frequencies, our results suggest that extended high-frequency hearing loss is already widespread among rural adolescents. This highlights the need for research on extended high-frequency audiometry in rural schoolaged children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural areas of Colombia represent distinct regions with some of the more entrenched male power imbalances (machismo) in Latin America and Caribbean. Pregnancies among adolescents are associated with significant social, health, educational and economic outcomes. The aim of this study was to identify the determinants of adolescent pregnancy in Colombia. Methods: The 2015 Demographic Health Survey data were used to compare rates of adolescent pregnancy with female empowerment scores and other sociodemographic characteristics across regions. Results: The analysis included 16,251 females with 27% of them having a pregnancy during adolescence. We found low education, low wealth index, low female empowerment, and older sexual partners to be significant determinants for adolescent pregnancy. Conclusions: The findings highlight the need for a sexual health paradigm that addresses young female adolescent empowerment particularly in rural Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]