[Health and the development of a rural health service system]

The first part of this article reviews the interesting experience of the Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Rural Development (CIMDER) of Cali, Colombia, in the application of a model for the integrated development of health services. The strategies used in the model were: services available to all individuals and families in the community, use of accessible technology, community participation, and cooperation between the health sector and other development sectors. The second part briefly reviews the role of the nurse in health and development and takes issue with the traditional narrow view of the sphere of action of nursing as a profession. It is asserted that, in order to bring about the extension of health services and community development, it is necessary that the nurse serve in a position of leadership on a multidisciplinary team as either coordinator of services, supervisor of personnel, or education, and as liaison for the formal health care system with the community to enlist its active participation.