Mano a Mano: Improving health in impoverished Bolivian communities through community-based participatory research.
Mano a Mano (Spanish translation: "Hand to Hand") is a nonprofit organization that is working in partnership with underserved Bolivian communities to cocreate medical infrastructures and to improve health. Using community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods, Mano a Mano engages local government and community leaders, health care providers, educators, and ordinary citizens in a manner that taps local strengths and resources to allow all participants to work together to realize this mission. After describing Bolivia's call for improved access to high quality care in its poor and underserved rural areas, we outline the Mano a Mano's CBPR approach and sequence to answer this call, the culmination of its efforts to date (including the establishment of 119 health care facilities), lessons learned, and next steps in the formal evaluation and extension of this collaborative work.
Mano a Mano International Partners, Mendota Heights, NN 55118, USA. manoamanousa@comcast.net
Joan
J
Velasquez
Nate
N
Knatterud-Hubinger
Dan
D
Narr
Tai
T
Mendenhall
Catherine
C
Solheim
D001838:Bolivia; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research / Q000379:methods*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012424:Rural Population; D040241:Social Marketing; D014330:Tropical Medicine