Developing a Health Education Program for the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Culturally Adapted to Ethnic and Rural Communities: Co-Design Study Using Participatory Audiovisual Methods.

Background: Infectious diseases disproportionately affect rural and ethnic communities in Colombia, where structural inequalities such as limited access to health care, poor sanitation, and scarce health education worsen their effects. Education is essential for preventing and controlling infectious diseases, fostering awareness of healthy behaviors, and empowering communities with the knowledge and skills to manage their health. Participatory and co-design methods strengthen educational programs by ensuring cultural relevance, enhancing knowledge retention, and promoting sustainable community interventions.

Objective: This study aims to describe the co-design process and evaluate the capacity building of an education program for the prevention and control of infectious diseases using participatory audiovisual methods culturally adapted to ethnic communities and rural contexts in Colombia.

Methods: A qualitative case study approach was used. 15 community leaders contributed to the program's design, implementation, and evaluation. Nominal groups and a participatory social diagnosis identified key topics, while theoretical-practical sessions with visual methods guided the cocreation of workshops and audiovisual materials. Evaluation combined qualitative analysis of participants' perceptions and quantitative assessment of knowledge acquisition. Qualitative data were coded through content analysis, while multiple-choice questionnaires (initial and final) categorized knowledge acquisition into 3 levels (low, medium, and high), with percentage distributions used for comparative analysis.

Results: The co-design process resulted in 12 theoretical and practical workshops in infectious diseases and 3 audiovisual products: an animation about malaria, a comic book about cutaneous leishmaniasis, and a puppet show about tuberculosis. The quantitative evaluation applied to the 15 participants revealed substantial improvements, with the proportion that achieved excellent scores in pedagogy increasing from 40% (6/15) to 93% (14/15), in leadership from 13% (2/15) to 27% (4/15). In terms of health knowledge, excellent scores increased from 40% for leishmaniasis, 60% for malaria, and 13% for tuberculosis, reaching 80% for all three diseases. The qualitative evaluation showed positive results in terms of the participants' perceptions of both the methodology and the co-design process outcomes.

Conclusions: The co-design process was driven by 3 key factors: (1) active community participation at every stage; (2) knowledge exchange between multidisciplinary technical expertise and practical local knowledge; and (3) the use of innovative, culturally adapted pedagogical tools tailored to the rural context and population. This co-design process proved to be an effective method for meaningful capacity building among populations experiencing vulnerability in complex settings, and has the potential to contribute significantly to the improvement of infectious disease prevention and control.