Health Situation Analysis of a Rural Community Located in Mexico 2017

Abstract

Introduction. An important element in conducting a Health Situation Analysis (HSA) is the use of a participatory design in order to explore health issues that the given population experiences. In the analysis being presented, the HSA was conducted at the behest of health authorites in Veracruz. The study’s purpose was to study spinocerebellar ataxia, type 7 (SCA-7). The study took place in Limones, a rural town located in Mexico. Methodology. This study was conducted in late 2017, using a combination of participatory, quantitative, as well as qualitative approaches for data collection and its analysis. Results. Both environmental pollution and alcoholism were identified as issues affecting the Limones population when using the participatory method. These two issues were also identified when applying the quantitative method. However, only environmental pollution was identified as an issue when the qualitative method was used. In the participatory portion of the study, a purposeful attempt to identify cases of SCA7 was made in addition to a test for carbon dioxide. In examining the results of the qualitative portion of the study, the population’s struggle with alcoholism was predominantly an issue among men. Alcoholism also presented itself earlier in men than in women. As for the quantitative portion of the study, a significant finding was that the median of the CO levels was above the permitted exposure levels. (Furthermore, father and son emerged in the intentional search for SCA7 cases.) Discussion. The results of three different methods enabled the formulation of a broader view of the critical health issues for residents of the town of Limones. Within that broader view, however, the detection of SCA7 cases did not prove to be a significant problem. This confirmed that although authorities may perceive an issue as critical, what the population is actually experiencing will not necessarily be the same.