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

Abstract #111705

Miguel A. Zuniga, MD, DrPH¹, Genny Carrillo, MD, ScD¹, James Alexander, PhD², and Craig H. Blakely, PhD, MPH³. (1) Department of Health Informatics, Medical College of Georgia, 1120 15th Street, Building AL, Evans, GA 30912-0100, (706) 721-6067, mzuniga@mcg.edu, (2) Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M University, 3000 Briarcrest Dr., Suite 300, Bryan, TX 77802, (3) Health Policy and Management, School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M University, 3000 Briarcrest Dr., Suite 300, Bryan, TX 77802

This study describes the preventive health practices of four Latin-American communities in the United States, Mexico, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. A questionnaire covering perceived health status, preventive screenings, usual places of health care, and community concerns was administered to 200 adults in isolated communities in each of the selected countries during 2003 and 2004. Participants rated their health in eight health scales, reported preventive screening services, and described their usual places of health care in an administrator applied health interview survey. Additionally, correlates of health status and nutritional status were performed by calculating respondent BMI and standardized SF8 health scales. Isolation and access to care were evaluated by ratings of community concerns and healthcare services accessibility and availability. Conclusions: Establishing baseline parameters to assess and monitor interventions is a practical approach to measuring progress towards community health improvements. Survey research methodology is a practical tool to successful monitoring and evaluation programs.

Learning Objectives: