MSC COVID-19
Qualitative study of major system change in the Colombian health system in response to COVID-19
Find out more information about our Minciencias funded study
Funding
This national study, one of 25 funded by Minciencias' Mincientación competition, is analysing the response of the Colombian health system to the Covid- 19 pandemic.
Study design
Drawing on qualitative case studies of three local health systems within the country, the study aims to collect information on capacity “bottlenecks” as well as successful practices and forms of innovation that have emerged locally, which have the potential for being 'scaled up' across Colombia's health services.
Impact
The emerging findings will be shared among various actors in the system in order to inform healthcare planning in response to Covid-19 and future pandemics.
Who we are
Our multidisciplinary team consists of researchers with diverse backgrounds - including doctors, anthropologists, and business scholars - united by their passion to develop organisational lessons based on qualitative research that can inform the health system response to Covid-19 in Colombia.

Simon Turner
Dr. Simon Turner is the main researcher of the study and an assistant professor at the Faculty of Administration of the Universidad de Los Andes. Before joining Uniandes, he was a Senior Lecturer in Health Policy and Organization at the University of Manchester. He has over 13 years of experience in postdoctoral research, having held research positions at University College London, King's College London, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of Cambridge. He has a PhD from Durham University and a Masters from the University of Birmingham. His research interests lie in applying the theory and methods of the social sciences (particularly ethnography) to the study of organizational and innovation processes in healthcare and public management. His research has been published in important international journals such as Social Sciences and Medicine, Public Administration, Sociology of Health and Disease, Socioeconomic Review, Implementation Science, British Medical Journal, Journal of Economic Geography, and Social Policy & Administration. Email:

Carolina Segura
Medical Specialist in Education and Arts with a Postdoctoral degree in Public Health from the University of British Columbia. Experience in research on chronic diseases and health education through the use of immersive technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, tele-immersion and simulation scenarios. My main interest is patient-centered medicine. My main objective is the optimization of the quality of health care through the use of technology, the implementation of precision medicine and intersectoral support.
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Natalia Botero
I am a doctor and historian from the Universidad de los Andes. I am interested in public health issues, intersectoriality to improve health care, and research on lessons learned from the history of medicine. I want to contribute to public health in Colombia, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
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Natalia Niño M
Anthropologist with a doctorate and a master's degree in Social Studies of Science and Technology from the University of Edinburgh, a master's degree in anthropology from the University of the Andes. Interested in researching the sociocultural aspects of the production and use of metrics, classification systems and standardization processes in the context of public health and global health. I have done research in the area of nutrition, as well as infectious diseases (dengue, malaria and HIV). Experience teaching undergraduate social science courses on qualitative methods and research design.
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Vivían Valencia
Professional in Finance and International Trade from the Universidad del Rosario and master's in International Business from the University of Greenwich. I have experience in consolidating and analyzing financial data, government planning, and conducting and reviewing development projects to promote social, economic, and environmental progress. I am interested in analyzing the intersectoral relationships between the health sector and other economic sectors and its impact on decision-making in public health policy.
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Juan Pablo Borda Kuhlmann
Currently a student of Mechanical Engineering and Administration with a minor in Asian Studies at the Universidad de los Andes. My interests in this project are, understanding the connection between the administration and the health sector and supporting the system in this situation. Furthermore, understanding and evaluating the position of stakeholders in combination with management tools will provide value to this study.
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Mónica María Muñoz Vela
PhD candidate in Marketing at the University of Valencia and master's degree in International Arts Management from SMU, HEC Montreal and SDA Bocconi universities. Interested in culture as a factor for creating value and its relationship with aspects such as well-being and health. I have been a teacher of the Marketing for Arts and Culture course since 2016, and I have experience in consulting, research and management of academic and cultural projects. I have conducted research in the area of consumer behavior, as well as impact measurements and formulation of strategic plans for private and public organizations.
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Maria Alejandra Herrera Torres
Business administration last year student with work experience in Business Controlling and Business Analytics. I've worked in a company of Labor Law and Health and Safety at Work (Colombia) and in a Mutua (Spain). Hence I've had the privilege of getting to know the social security system in both countries. I have great affinity public health therefore I would like to use this project to learn as much as I can about it and, eventually, contribute to a significant change since the Administration persepective.
Contact us
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