Colombia's basic health teams (equipos básicos de salud): territory, families and the nurse's role
- Safe practice
A basic health team cares for the families of a territory at home and in their settings; nursing assistants and the nurse are at its core.
What it is
Law 1438 of 2011 (art. 15) created basic health teams as a functional and organisational way to ease access to services within APS, and art. 16 listed their tasks. MinSalud's operating guidelines for the teams financed by Resolution 2788 of 2022 (2023) describe the territorial health team: one doctor, one nurse, four nursing assistants, one community leader or health promoter and one health or social professional, for a territory of up to 5,000 families. Each micro-territory of families is assigned to a nursing assistant, whose entry point is the home and the family characterisation. Since Resolution 1597 of 2025, the collective interventions plan (PIC) is also implemented through basic health teams.
What it requires
- Law 1438, art. 16: family diagnosis, individual, family and community risk identification, information on services, promoting enrolment, inducing demand for public health priorities and supplying data for the health record.
- Prioritised micro-territories are those with little or no PIC activity, low coverage of individual promotion and prevention and public health events or social and environmental risks.
- The team works in five settings: home, school, community, informal work and institutions.
- A complementary municipal team (nutrition, dentistry, therapy, environmental technician, vaccinator and others) supports the territorial teams.
Components
- Family record (carpeta familiar) with the family characterisation, family structure diagram, family function questionnaire, eco-map and the PICP.
- Referral format (formato de canalización) to institutions in the municipality, with a monthly balance of referrals made versus effective referrals.
- Social cartography of the micro-territory, ideally guided by the community leader.
- Monthly monitoring indicators, such as the proportion of households attended (characterised, risk-classified and with a PICP).
How it is applied (and why)
- Review the territory's data and health situation analysis — the team arrives knowing the priorities and the gaps.
- Prioritise micro-territories with the territorial entity and the ESE — teams go first where coverage is lowest and risk highest.
- Map the micro-territory with the community leader — the leader knows the routes, groups and risks.
- Characterise each family at home (nursing assistant) — it identifies risks and strengths of every member.
- Agree the PICP with the family and the team — a plan the family helps write is a plan the family follows.
- Deliver the collective interventions by setting; the nurse delivers health education and community-based rehabilitation — care reaches the setting.
- Refer to the primary health facility by identified risk and check effective access — a referral without follow-up is lost.
- Follow up on the family's commitments at each visit — the family is the first evaluator of its own progress.
- Record everything in the administrative registry and review the indicators — data show coverage and gaps.
- Hold team meetings for case analysis, supervision and caregiver support — complex families need a team decision.
Who does what in the territorial health team (MinSalud guidelines, 2023)
| Member | Main tasks |
|---|---|
| Nursing assistant (4) | Characterises the families of a micro-territory, gives health information, coordinates with the rest of the team and follows up. |
| Nurse | Health education, community-based rehabilitation, social and community networks and, in some settings, screening. |
| Doctor | Screening and health education in the different settings. |
| Community leader or promoter | Link with the community, social cartography, prioritisation, early detection of risks and family follow-up. |
| Health or social professional | Chosen by local need (psychology, dentistry, social work); listening centres, guidance zones and community-based rehabilitation. |
In nursing practice
- The nurse and the doctor deliver health education in every setting; the nurse also takes part in screening, community networks and community-based rehabilitation.
- Teams adapt their structure and methods to Indigenous, Afro-Colombian and Roma communities, and leaders of those communities can join the team.
- The team identifies, reports and manages events of public health interest found in the territory.
- Telemedicine and extramural care help keep continuity where distances are long.
Common mistakes
- Repeating the family characterisation without turning it into a PICP.
- Referring without checking that the person actually got the service.
- Entering the community without the leader and without consent.
- Recording late or outside the official registry, so the work is not counted.
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
Who is assigned the families of each micro-territory in a basic health team?
A nursing assistant, who characterises the families at home and coordinates activities with the rest of the team.
How many families can a micro-territory have?
From 60 or fewer in highly dispersed areas up to 500 in dense urban areas.
What is the PICP?
The Comprehensive Primary Care Plan: the tool the team uses to identify, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate priority actions for the person, family and community.
Which law created the basic health teams in Colombia?
Law 1438 of 2011 (art. 15, with their functions in art. 16).
Elsewhere in DurgiPedia
Connections
Educational content for students; it does not replace your institution's protocols, supervised clinical training or a prescriber's order. Dose-calculation examples use made-up numbers: they are educational, not a clinical order.
Sources: Lineamientos para la organización y operación de los Equipos Básicos de Salud (Resolución 2788 de 2022, modificada por la Resolución 2519 de 2022) (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, Colombia, 2023); Ley 1438 de 2011 (arts. 15 y 16: equipos básicos de salud) (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, Colombia, 2011); Resolución 1597 de 2025: gestión territorial integral de la salud pública y Plan de Salud Pública de Intervenciones Colectivas (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, Colombia, 2025).
Spotted a mistake?We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it.Report a mistake
Representative model, for educational purposes only.