Review of the concepts of territory, population and health in the Colombian context

Abstract

As part of the Applicability of the Integrated Health Services Networks research Project, the concepts of territory, population and health are reviewed, as elements to be considered in the planning of health services. Territory is constituted in a dynamic and homogeneous unit in relation to the population that inhabits it and, as a result of interactions between people and their physical, economic and social environment, a culture is developed and different degrees of wellness are achieved. Population, understood as an organized cluster of human beings, conceptualizes health and expresses their needs and related expectations according the prevailing culture in a territory. This can be expressed from not being sick to considering it enforceable as a right related to decent living conditions. Formal and informal institutions in each region are also an expression of the culture of said population and the state’s ability to organize them in search of the highest standards of welfare for its inhabitants. In Colombia, regional differences are recognized as elements to be considered in the development plans and different territorial units from the traditional political-administrative divisions can be formed. In the case of the country’s health sector, the organization of the system independently from the territories achieves an improvement in health insurance; however, at the same time it causes difficulties in public health and access to some critical services such as perinatal health.