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Background: The participation of health professionals in designing interventions is considered vital to effective implementation, yet in areas such as clinical coordination is rarely promoted and evaluated. This study, part of Equity-LA II, aims to analyse the design process of interventions to improve clinical coordination, taking a participatory-action-research (PAR) approach, in healthcare networks of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay. This participatory process was planned in four phases, led by a local steering committee (LSC): (1) dissemination of problem analysis results and creation of professionals' platform, (2) selection of problems and intervention (3) intervention design and planning (4) adjustments after evaluation of first implementation stage.Methods: A descriptive qualitative study based on documentary analysis, using a topic guide, was conducted in each intervention network. Documents produced regarding the intervention design process were selected. Thematic content analysis was conducted, generating mixed categories taken from the topic guide and identified from data. Main categories were LSC characteristics, type of design process (phases, participants' roles, methods) and associated difficulties, coordination problems and interventions selected.Results: LSCs of similar composition (managers, professionals and researchers) were established, with increasing membership in Chile and high turnover in Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. Following results dissemination and selection of problems and interventions (more participatory in Chile and Colombia: 200–479 participants), the interventions were designed and planned, resulting in three different types of processes: (1) short initial design with adjustments after first implementation stage, in Colombia, Brazil and Mexico; (2) longer, more participatory process, with multiple cycles of action/reflection and pilot tests, in Chile; (3) open-ended design for ongoing adaptation, in Argentina and Uruguay. Professionals' time and the political cycle were the main barriers to participation. The clinical coordination problem selected was limited communication between primary and secondary care doctors. To address it, through discussions guided by context and feasibility criteria, interventions based on mutual feedback were selected.Conclusions: As expected in a flexible PAR process, its rollout differed across countries in participation and PAR cycles. Results show that PAR can help to design interventions adapted to context and offers lessons that can be applied in other contexts.

BACKGROUND:The fragmentation of healthcare provision has given rise to a wide range of interventions within organizations to improve coordination across levels of care, primarily in high income countries but also in some middle and low-income countries. The aim is to analyze the use of coordination mechanisms in healthcare networks and its implications for the delivery of health care. This is studied from the perspective of health personnel in two countries with different health systems, Colombia and Brazil. METHODS: A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive-interpretative study was conducted, based on a case study of healthcare networks in two municipalities in each country. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with a three stage theoretical sample of a) health (112) and administrative (66) professionals of different care levels, and b) managers of providers (42) and insurers (14). A thematic content analysis was conducted, segmented by cases, informant groups and themes. RESULTS: The results show that care coordination mechanisms are poorly implemented in general. However, the results are marginally better in certain segments of the Colombian networks analyzed (ambulatory centres with primary and secondary care co-location owned by or tied to the contributory scheme insurers, and public providers of the subsidized scheme); and in the network of the state capital in Brazil. Professionals point to numerous problems in the use of existing mechanisms, such as the insufficient recording of information in referral forms, low frequency and level of participation in shared clinical sessions, low adherence to the few available clinical guidelines and the lack of or inadequate referral of patients by the patient referral centres, particularly in the Brazilian networks. The absence or limited use of care coordination mechanisms leads, according to informants, to the inadequate follow-up of patients, interruptions in care and duplication of tests. Professionals use informal strategies to try to overcome these limitations. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate not only the limited implementation of mechanisms for coordination across care levels, but also a limited use of existing mechanisms in the healthcare networks analyzed. This has a negative impact on coordination, efficiency and quality of care. Organizational changes are required in the networks and healthcare systems to address these problems.

La complexité de la réponse aux besoins de soins des populations suppose la construction d’un système, dont les éléments constitutifs sont clairement séparables mais complémentaires dans leur responsabilité et leur action. En Belgique, l’Institut de médecine tropicale d’Anvers, qui avait déjà acquis une connaissance à ce sujet en Afrique et en Amérique latine, a développé, au cours des 18 dernières années, sept expériences d’organisation de systèmes locaux de santé, en partant de la mise en place de petites équipes de professionnels expérimentés, généralistes et spécialistes, travaillant ensemble. La systématisation de ces expériences constitue un apport à la définition de politiques nationales belges, destinées à améliorer la coordination des soins de santé. Dans le champ international, elles devraient permettre de prendre en compte les facteurs non formels, essentiels pour rendre opérantes les structures déjà bien établies d’organisation formelle des services de santé dans de nombreux pays, par exemple en Amérique latine. The complexity of the response to the people needs for care induces that the corresponding health system is based on clearly distinct but complementary components, each one with its responsibility and scope of action. In Belgium, the Institute for Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, which got a relevant knowledge in Africa and Latin America, has developed over the last 18 years, seven field researches on local health systems, considering the assumption of establishing small teams of experienced professionals, GPs and specialists working together. The systematization of this work can be seen as an input to the Belgian definition of national policies, in order to improve the coordination of health care. In the international field, it could allow taking in account the non-formal factors, essential for making operative already established structures for the formal organization of health services, as they exist in many countries, for example in Latin America.

Objetivo: Describir opiniones de formuladores de políticas y gestores sobre las características y configuración de redes integradas de servicios de salud (RISS) en Colombia. Metodología: Estudio cualitativo-descriptivo, basado en 21 entrevistas semiestructuradas a formuladores de políticas y gestores. Se utilizó la técnica de análisis narrativo de contenido. Resultados: Existen tres aproximaciones al concepto de redes: configuración de prestadores de servicios por niveles de complejidad, articulación de aseguradores con prestadores de servicios y oferta de servicios con criterios de geo-referenciación. Aunque las normativas posibilitan al asegurador garantizar la prestación de servicios mediante redes propias o subcontratadas existen diferencias atribuidas a: la oferta de servicios, las formas de contratación y procesos de integración, que impactan el acceso, la coordinación asistencial y la eficiencia en la prestación de los servicios. Conclusión: La introducción del modelo de competencia gestionada genera dificultades para articular el trabajo en red y la sostenibilidad de los prestadores principalmente públicos. Salud UIS 2011; 43(1): 73-77 Objective: To describe stakeholders' opinions related to Integrated Health Care Networks (IHN) organizations in Colombia. Methodology: Descriptive qualitative research based on 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted to policy makers and IHN organization managers. Narrative content analysis was carried out. Results: There are three approximation to the network concept: health service providers configuration by levels of complexity, coordination of insurance organization with health care providers and service offerings with georeferenciation criteria Although the policies allowing the health insurer guarantee the health care provision, through their own networks or outsourced networks exist differences due to: the service offer, the ways of hiring and integration processes which impact the access, the coordination of care and efficiency in health care provision. Conclusion: The introduction of managed competition model make difficult the network configuration and sustainability of public health care providers. Salud UIS 2011; 43(1): 73-77.

La coordinación asistencial es la concertación de diferentes actividades que son requeridas para atender al paciente a lo largo del continuo asistencial. Se desarrolló un estudio cualitativo para identificar los principales factores que dificultan la coordinación asistencial. Se realizó análisis narrativo del contenido de 32 entrevistas semiestructuradas, desarrolladas a informantes clave de una Empresa Promotora de Salud del régimen Subsidiado. A nivel interno surgen como barreras, las fallas en la comunicación y bajo nivel de colaboración entre profesionales, inadecuadas condiciones de trabajo y problemas para implementar mecanismos de programación. A nivel externo, se destacan fallas en las políticas de regulación de los procesos de contratación asegurador-prestador, de los mecanismos de coordinación y una pobre visión de la atención integral en salud. La existencia de estas barreras desarrollan pérdida de continuidad en la prestación de servicios de salud, requiriéndose la implementación efectiva de mecanismos de coordinación entre los niveles asistenciales. Salud UIS 2011; 43(1): 77-79 Care coordination is the agreement of diverse activities requested to attend a patient along care continuum. A narrative analysis of contentment was developed to 32 semi-structured interviews, applied to key informants intentional Selected from a subsidized HCN. Internally arises as barriers, failures in communication and lack of collaboration among professionals, inadequate work conditions and deficiencies in programming mechanisms implementation. External barriers were related with deficient national politics to regulate care provider-insurer contracting, coordination mechanisms and poor view of integrated health. These barriers break the continuity in health care provision. Effective implementation of care coordination is requested among different levels of care. Salud UIS 2011; 43(1): 77-79.

La reforma del sector salud en Colombia en 1993 se fundamentó en el paradigma defendido internacionalmente de la privatización de los servicios de atención médica. Teniendo en cuenta la falta de evidencia empírica en la aplicación de este concepto en los países en desarrollo y la experiencia documentada de fracasos en otros países, Colombia trató de superar estos problemas a través de un modelo teóricamente sólido pero, a la vez, complicado. Después de 10 años de la implementación de la Ley 100, una revisión de la literatura muestra que los objetivos propuestos de cobertura universal y acceso equitativo a atención de alta calidad no se han logrado. A pesar de un gran aumento en los costos y un incremento considerable en los gastos públicos y privados en salud más del 40% de la población aún no está cubierto por la seguridad en salud y el acceso a la atención médica es cada vez más difícil. Además, indicadores claves de salud y programas de control de enfermedades han desmejorado. Estas conclusiones confirman los resultados en otros países de ingresos medios y bajos. Los autores sugieren que la explicación radica en la ineficiencia de la subcontratación con terceros, la débil capacidad económica, técnica y política del gobierno colombiano para regular y controlar y la ausencia de participación real de los pobres en la toma de decisiones sobre políticas de salud The reform of the Colombian health sector in 1993 was founded on the internationally advocated paradigm of privatization of health care delivery. Taking into account the lack of empirical evidence for the applicability of this concept to developing countries and the documented experience of failures in other countries, Colombia tried to overcome these problems by a theoretically sound, although complicated, model. Some ten years after the implementation of "Law 100," a review of the literature shows that the proposed goals of universal coverage and equitable access to high-quality care have not been reached. Despite an explosion in costs and a considerable increase in public and private health expenditure, more than 40 percent of the population is still not covered by health insurance, and access to health care proves uncreasingly difficult. Furthermore, key health indicators and disease control programs have deteriorated. These findings confirm the results in other middle- and low-income countries. The authors suggest the explanation lies in the inefficiency of contracting-out, the weak economic, technical, and political capacity of the Colombian government for regulation and control, and the absence of real participation of the poor in decision-making on (health) policies