International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Preparing Health Systems for Therapeutic Hybridization; Comment on “Routes of Well-Being, Spiritual Harmony and Recovery in Mental Health: The Community as a Policy-Maker”

Document Type : Commentary

Authors
Marcela Guapacha-Montoya 1
Diana Carolina Aguirre-Flórez 2
1 Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Caldas, Manizales, Colombia
2 Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manizales, Manizales, Colombia
10.34172/ijhpm.10065
Abstract
This commentary builds on a policy-oriented understanding of recovery as a co-produced route of well-being, spiritual harmony, and community participation. It examines therapeutic hybridization: the negotiated articulation of biomedical care, ancestral practices, spiritual resources, family support, territorial meanings, and communitybased recovery. Rather than treating these arrangements as informal adaptations or cultural supplements, health systems must govern, finance, evaluate, and protect plural forms of care without subordinating Indigenous knowledge. Drawing primarily on Colombian cases and wider literature on community health systems, cultural safety, and intercultural policy, the commentary proposes six domains of preparedness: governance, care pathways, financing, workforce, clinical safety, and learning systems. The agenda is intended as an adaptable, non-exhaustive framework for settings where plural therapeutic systems already interact and where communities can share authority over design and evaluation. Therapeutic hybridization is therefore presented as a test of whether health systems can redistribute legitimacy, resources, and decision-making authority.

Keywords
Indigenous Peoples
Mental Health Services
Cultural Competency
Community Participation
Health Policy
Colombia
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International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Volume 15, Issue 1
2026
Pages 1-4

  • Received Date 06 June 2026
  • Revised Date 21 July 2026
  • Accepted Date 24 July 2026
  • First Published Date 28 July 2026
  • Published Date 01 December 2026