Cardiovascular disease prevention capacity in Colombian local health departments

ABSTRACT

Prevention capacity of local health organisations is associated with the performance and outcomes in public health. In Colombia, where cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, there is limited knowledge about the capacity of local health departments to prevent this condition. Efforts are needed to address problems, potential solutions and expected outcomes regarding cardiovascular disease. In this study, a conceptual model for cardiovascular disease prevention capacity in Colombian local health departments was developed, a questionnaire based on this model was validated, the overall cardiovascular disease prevention capacity in a subsample of these organisations was measured, and the association between cardiovascular disease prevention capacity and political, population, and organisational factors was examined. Once the acceptable performance of the questionnaire was verified, variability in cardiovascular prevention capacity was found among a subsample of local health departments. Furthermore, this study provides primary evidence regarding the association between the size of local health departments and overall cardiovascular disease prevention capacity in Colombia. Future studies should focus on measuring this capacity on a larger scale and developing, implementing, and evaluating interventions aimed at strengthening cardiovascular prevention capacity in Colombian local jurisdictions.

KEYWORDS:

• Cardiovascular disease
• health system research
• population health management
• prevention
• public health practice

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Vice President for Research Office and the School of Government of the Universidad de los Andes. We would like to acknowledge the valuable contribution of the public health staff in all jurisdictions involved in this study.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Vice President for Research Office and the School of Government of the Universidad de los Andes: [Grant Number NA].