Community health perceptions and evidence-based public health practice


Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

5016.0: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - Board 6

Abstract #110375

Delia Mercedes Duchicela¹, Miguel A. Zuniga, MD, DrPH², and James Alexander, PhD¹. (1) Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M University, 3000 Briarcrest Dr., Suite 300, Bryan, TX 77802, 979.458.2246, dmduchicela@srph.tamhsc.edu, (2) Department of Health Informatics, Medical College of Georgia, 1120 15th Street, Building AL, Evans, GA 30912-0100

Objective: To illustrate how survey results can be a sampler on preventive health programs and services in communities in Honduras. Methods: 200 household surveys were conducted to urban and rural communities of Northwestern Honduras between May 2004 and July 2004. The participants were selected from clusters of the largest city of the Province of Santa Rosa de Copan. This site was chosen because of its 53% poverty level. The rural communities were selected from data supplied by an alternative medicine program run by a local non-governmental organization. The subjects interviewed were the head of households or another adult of the household. Discussion: Three quarters of adult respondents had a mean BMI 24.4. Approximately 56% of the adult respondents reported their health as poor or very poor. Nine out of ten respondents reported that they do not have a regular place for medical care. Almost 53% responded that they have an annual medical checkup. More than half of the female respondents had not had a Pap smear in the past three years, none of the rural female respondents had ever had a Pap smear. Six our of ten female respondents consider that they have more emotional stress in their daily lives, especially related to health and economic issues. No respondent acknowledged that they attend a naturopath. More than 50% of the parents did not know the weight and height of the children. Conclusions: Community health interventions in developing countries can be enhanced with community health assessment tools. These tools aid the health care team in producing evidence-based outcomes and comparable information in time and space.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session the participants will be able to

1. List eight health scales used in measuring perceived health-related quality of life.
2. Identify three important healthcare access issues in developing country populations.
3. Appreciate the usefulness of survey methods in assessing community health perceptions.

Keywords: Assessments, Practice-Based Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Innovations in Community Health

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA