# The invisible frontline: experiences of public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and health emergencies in Colombia

## TL;DR

This paper highlights the overlooked contributions and challenges faced by public health workers in Colombia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Contribution

It introduces a qualitative analysis of the invisibility and undervaluation of public health workers compared to clinical staff during health emergencies.

## Key findings

- Public health workers in Colombia felt invisible and undervalued during the pandemic.
- The lack of a clear definition of the public health frontline led to less recognition and support.
- Precarious working conditions and lack of public acknowledgment affected their well-being and motivation.

## Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline workers were widely recognized for their efforts, with an emphasis largely placed on clinical personnel providing individual care. However, public health workers, who played a critical role in managing the pandemic from a population wide perspective, received far less attention. This paper explores the experiences of public health frontline (PHF) workers in Colombia during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting their role in virus identification, surveillance, and guiding public health responses.

Using a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews (n = 83), we examine the challenges faced by the PHF, their strategies for adapting to the crisis, and the impact of the work overload they encountered.

The structural conditions that influenced public health responses in Colombia, shedding light on the necessity of a robust public health workforce for emergency preparedness. All the work realized to respond from a collective health perspective was performed by a PHF who felt that they were invisible. This invisibility had to do with the precarious working conditions that predated the pandemic, but also with a sense of being undervalued or not publicly recognized and thanked for—as opposed to clinical healthcare workers—, since public health was not necessarily considered part of the “COVID frontline.”

The lack of a clear definition of the public health frontline during the pandemic rendered essential workers in this sector invisible, leading to less recognition compared to clinical healthcare staff and affecting their well-being, safety, and motivation.