[Co-authorship research networks in public health in Santander]

Although a good deal of research in public health has been performed, large inequalities still exist in health. It is necessary to know how knowledge is generated and disseminated to the public in order for research to reach decision-makers.

To characterize public health research networks in Santander, Colombia.

Analysis of social networks based on co-authorship of scientific publications by researchers living in Santander in 2012. Researchers were identified using a "snowball" technique. The publications search was conducted using national and international databases. The density and average geodesic distance of networks were calculated, as was the size, pairs, brokers and homophily of egocentric networks.

There were 531 researchers. Most worked in epidemiology (77.59%), and in more than one thematic field. The network density was 0.0058 and the average geodesic distance was 4.418. Several indicators suggested that the most cohesive egocentric networks were those in which researches investigated more than in one knowledge area or in epidemiology. Homophily was lower for health systems, biostatistics and social and behavioral sciences, as well as private hospitals and the public university.

The network structure suggests a growth phase in research and a predominance of epidemiology. Other public health areas need strengthening so as to better address the health needs of the state.