Dengue and health care access: the role of social determinants of health in dengue surveillance in Colombia

Abstract

Based on a first-hand experience from Colombia in the context of a local dengue research project, this paper illustrates how social determinants of health are associated with public health and how they can affect disease surveillance systems. The paper shows how various issues related to dengue case notification procedures and health insurance systems in Colombia are intertwined with more structural socio-economic factors. We argue that there is a need for public health interventions and health related research to acknowledge and consider the important role social determinants play in public health dynamics.