Establishing a community of practice of researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and communities to sustainably manage environmental health risks in Ecuador.

BACKGROUND: The Sustainably Managing Environmental Health Risk in Ecuador project was launched in 2004 as a partnership linking a large Canadian university with leading Cuban and Mexican institutes to strengthen the capacities of four Ecuadorian universities for leading community-based learning and research in areas as diverse as pesticide poisoning, dengue control, water and sanitation, and disaster preparedness. METHODS: In implementing curriculum and complementary innovations through application of an ecosystem approach to health, our interdisciplinary international team focused on the question: "Can strengthening of institutional capacities to support a community of practice of researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and communities produce positive health outcomes and improved capacities to sustainably translate knowledge?" To assess progress in achieving desired outcomes, we review results associated with the logic framework analysis used to guide the project, focusing on how a community of practice network has strengthened implementation, including follow-up tracking of program trainees and presentation of two specific case studies. RESULTS: By 2009, train-the-trainer project initiation involved 27 participatory action research Master's theses in 15 communities where 1200 community learners participated in the implementation of associated interventions. This led to establishment of innovative Ecuadorian-led master's and doctoral programs, and a Population Health Observatory on Collective Health, Environment and Society for the Andean region based at the Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar. Building on this network, numerous initiatives were begun, such as an internationally funded research project to strengthen dengue control in the coastal community of Machala, and establishment of a local community eco-health centre focusing on determinants of health near Cuenca. DISCUSSION: Strengthening capabilities for producing and applying knowledge through direct engagement with affected populations and decision-makers provides a fertile basis for consolidating capacities to act on a larger scale. This can facilitate the capturing of benefits from the "top down" (in consolidating institutional commitments) and the "bottom up" (to achieve local results). CONCLUSIONS: Alliances of academic and non-academic partners from the South and North provide a promising orientation for learning together about ways of addressing negative trends of development. Assessing the impacts and sustainability of such processes, however, requires longer term monitoring of results and related challenges.

Evaluating the effectiveness of a multi-component intervention to improve health in an inner-city Havana community.

The ecosystem approach to human health was applied to guide an evaluation of the effectiveness of a multi-component intervention to improve quality of life and health in an inner-city Havana community. A pre- versus post-intervention analysis was carried out in the study community of Cayo Hueso, and Colon, a concurrent comparison community. A household survey of 1,703 individuals was conducted in 30 neighborhoods, equally divided between the two areas. Greater improvements in housing, local infrastructure, and exposure to risk were perceived to have occurred in the targeted community, more so from the perspective of benefit to the community rather than with regard to the residents' own households. Improvements in some lifestyle-related risk factors and self-rated health in the most vulnerable subgroups (elderly and adolescents) were also achieved. Overall, the Cayo Hueso Plan was considered highly successful in improving the quality of life amid difficult circumstances. Its lessons are being embraced by other communities.