Implementing joint training sessions of general practitioners and specialists aimed at improving clinical coordination in Colombia: Contributions from participatory action research.

Objective: To analyse the contribution of participatory action research (PAR) in designing and implementing joint training sessions as a means to improve clinical coordination in a public health care network in Bogotá, Colombia.

Methods: A qualitative, descriptive-interpretative study using semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups with 40 professionals (GPs, specialists, members of the local steering committee (LSC) and network middle managers) involved in designing and implementing joint training sessions to improve cross-level clinical coordination. The intervention consisted of two forms of joint training sessions for GPs and specialists, implemented through two PAR cycles.

Changes in knowledge and use of clinical coordination mechanisms between care levels in healthcare networks of Colombia.

Clinical coordination mechanisms (CCMs) have become key tools in healthcare networks for improving coordination between primary care (PC) and secondary care (SC) and are particularly relevant in health systems with highly fragmented healthcare provision. However, their implementation has been little studied to date in Latin America and particularly in Colombia. This study analyses the level of knowledge and use of CCMs between care levels and their changes between 2015 and 2017 in two public healthcare networks in Bogotá, Colombia.

[Factors influencing the use of mechanisms for coordinating healthcare levels in Colombia].

Objective: To analyse the factors influencing the use of mechanisms for the clinical coordination of two Colombian public healthcare networks' healthcare levels in Bogotá from the main social actors' perspective.

Method: This was a descriptive-interpretative, qualitative study of two public healthcare networks. Discussion groups and semi-structured interviews were used for collecting information.