Abstract for: Assessing the availability of veterinary services in a rural municipality in Antioquia (Colombia)

Rural areas in Colombia have a variety of problematic situations, including poor access to public services, access to educational centers and especially access to basic veterinary services for companion and production animals present in rural homes. Visits to rural areas by professionals in veterinary medicine allow these problems to be identified and to identify the effect that the work done can significantly change the way in which production animals can be raised, properly care for companion animals and know the resources in terms of medicines and services that are available in the municipalities and that in many cases are not used due to lack of knowledge. This problem has multiple causes, including the perceptions of veterinary service providers, the general population, and the priorities within municipal government plans. This document aims to make a first version of a causal model that includes the dynamics existing in this problematic situation and that subsequently allows decision-making in government entities that are present in all towns of Colombia.