R. Pena et al., RESULTS FROM A COMMUNITY INTERVENTION PROJECT IN THE NICARAGUAN MINING COMMUNITY EL LIMON - AN OVERVIEW, Social science & medicine, 38(4), 1994, pp. 623-629
The first steps of a community involvement health project using the pr
inciples of community diagnosis and popular participation were carried
out in a small Nicaraguan mining village during the second half of th
e 1980s. Using existing archives and obtaining new information aided b
y local organizations, priorities could be established for health and
safety surveillance within the mining company, as well as for further
investigations concerning what seemed to be dominant health problems i
n the community: serious accidents among the economically active popul
ation and diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections among children, a
s well as infections, and other health indicators of malnutrition. Wor
kers also presented chronic simple bronchitis, ventilatory obstructive
disturbance and hearing loss that were strongly associated with worki
ng conditions. These results helped to direct health priorities and ed
ucational activities at the local level with both the general and work
ing population. The wide experience gained from this study has encoura
ged us to strengthen the link between research and action and in perfo
rming studies in close cooperation with local organizations.