Objective

To prioritize diseases, population and methods of analysis in public health according to the preferences of the stakeholders of the knowledge network of the National Health Observatory.

Method

The conjoint analysis methodology (AC) was used; it consists on the construction of a complete factorial model taking a random sample of subjects that must identify the preferences of the attributes of a given construct according to a pre-established order of importance. The stakeholders of the knowledge network who participated were professionals from public universities, members of health promotion entities, health provision services, health departments, non-profit health organizations, specialized research centers, mayor’s offices, and corporations.

Results

The groups of priority diseases were mental and behavioral disorders (13.8%), cardiovascular and circulatory diseases (13%), neoplasms (10%), diarrhea, respiratory infections, meningitis and other common infectious diseases (6.7%), and nutritional deficiencies (6.3 %). The preferred prioritization criteria were the burden of disease and high-impact epidemiological dynamics. The analysis of priority information was the analysis of social determinants. The most preferred population was the general population.

Conclusions

Participants perceive both chronic and infectious diseases as a priority, which is consistent with the epidemiological transition of the country. The priority for the Colombian health system is to strengthen the capacity of human resources and the surveillance system in different areas to have a better decision-making process in relation to public health.