Manzanas del Cuidado (Care Blocks)

Bogotá, Colombia (2022-2023)

Project Goal

Identify built and social environmental facilitators and barriers influencing caregivers’ experiences, perceptions and access to Ciudad Bolivar’s Care Block
Document the community-led advocacy process and the public institutions' engagement within the program to further advance the potential benefits of the Care Block program
Examine whether virtual and augmented reality tools can enhance engagement among citizen scientists and decision makers to facilitate short-term and long-term solutions for the community

Guiding Question

On your path from your home to the Care Block, what makes it easy or difficult to get to the program?

Project Description

In Bogotá, Colombia, four out of ten women dedicate more than one hour per day to unpaid care work compared to one out of ten men (Tribín et al., 2023). Furthermore, on average, women spend eight hours a day on this type of work compared to two hours a day for men (Tribín et al., 2023). Unpaid care work has been associated with increased risk for stress-related health conditions as well as increased depression and quality of life. To address this issue, Bogotá’s district implemented Manzanas del Cuidado (MDC; translated to Care Blocks), an innovative public program that aims to provide services for low-income unpaid caregivers and the individuals they care for, including children, people with disabilities, and older adults in a walkable radius. These services include middle/high school educational opportunities, psychosocial support, and recreational/physical activity programs. Currently, there are 20 MDC facilities in 17 administrative areas of Bogotá as well as 2 mobile units and home-to-home care service. This research project seeks to gather the perspectives of 21 unpaid caregivers from Ciudad Bolivar, a low-income administrative area of Bogotá, assessing the facilitators and barriers to access a Care Block facility, Manitas, in Ciudad Bolivar, Bogota, Colombia.

Population Characteristics

21 unpaid caregivers (20 women and 1 man) from Ciudad Bolivar, Bogotá, Colombia. Among them, 61.91% had finished high school and 19.05% had professional, technical or technological studies. They reported dedicating a median of 13.50 hours a day to unpaid caregiving (IQR = 9.00-15.75) and had a median of two dependents (IQR =1-3), of which 52.38% were children, 38.10% elderly, and 33.33% people with disabilities.

Outcomes from Walk Audits

21 unpaid care workers between the ages of 29 and 79 years (mean = 53)
21 data collection walks recorded over the span of 21 days (6/21/22-7/12/22)
257 photos and audio recordings were captured/processed to determine facilitators and barriers to accessing Manzanas del Cuidado in Ciudad Bolívar
79 facilitators and 178 barriers were identified

Strengths Identified

Services and facilities of the Care Block (N=35/79)
Good number of transport alternatives (N=14/79)
Adequate quality of sidewalks and roads in the area surrounding the Care Block (N=11/79)

Barriers & Areas for Improvement Identified

Poor quality and lack of sidewalks and roads, especially for people with disabilities and older adults (N=64/178)
Perception insecurity regarding robberies, sale and consumption of psychoactive substances and lack of illumination on the roads at night (N=41/178)
High risk of road collisions due to a lack of sidewalks, heavy traffic and car speed (N=17/178)

Outcomes from Community Meeting

19 participants came together to review each other’s data and brainstorm key themes from the collected photos and comments. After categorizing the data into key themes, participants generated short and long-term solutions.
- 12 participants engaged in the traditional Our Voice community meeting
- 9 participants engaged with virtual reality goggles to explore locations that their fellow citizen scientists documented using the Discovery Tool (in addition to generating themes and solutions).