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Objetivo: Diseñar, implementar y evaluar una intervención educativa que contribuya al manejo adecuado de los residuos sólidos urbanos con participación de una comunidad semiurbana, al norte de Cuernavaca, Morelos, México. Material y métodos: Estudio con medición pre y post-intervención educativa, también llamado diseño pre-experimental, con aproximación cuanti-cualitativa. Cuestionario hecho en 27 hogares, 3 grupos focales, 8 entrevistas y creación de un registro etnográfico, de agosto 2010 a mayo 2011. Resultados: Participaron 23 niños/niñas y 14 mujeres de manera directa, en actividades de la intervención. Se incrementó 4,74% el conocimiento sobre manejo de los residuos ( p = 0,036), 4.5% la susceptibilidad percibida ( p = 0,041) y 3.39% los beneficios percibidos ( p = 0,032). La basura se percibe como problema asociado a daños a la salud y medio ambiente. Se identificó a la mujer como responsable del manejo de residuos sólidos. Se favoreció la relación vecinal e incorporación de acciones de separar residuos y barrer las calles con más frecuencia. Conclusiones: Reconocer a la población como guía de acciones en salud es fundamental para el éxito de intervenciones comunitarias. Se recomienda el uso de una metodología participativa en otras propuestas de intervención.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the characteristics of health diagnosis according to the ecohealth approach in rural and urban communities in Mexico.METHODS Health diagnosis were conducted in La Nopalera, from December 2007 to October 2008, and in Atlihuayan, from December 2010 to October 2011. The research was based on three principles of the ecohealth approach: transdisciplinarity, community participation, gender and equity. To collect information, a joint methodology and several techniques were used to stimulate the participation of inhabitants. The diagnostic exercise was carried out in five phases that went from collecting information to prioritization of problems.RESULTS The constitution of the transdisciplinary team, as well as the participation of the population and the principle of gender/equity were differentials between the communities. In the rural community, the active participation of inhabitants and authorities was achieved and the principles of transdisciplinarity and gender/equity were incorporated.CONCLUSIONS With all the difficulties that entails the boost in participation, the incorporation of gender/equity and transdisciplinarity in health diagnosis allowed a holistic public health approach closer to the needs of the population.

This study is part of a community initiative for integrated solid waste management based on "popular epidemiology" and participatory action research. The study proposes a method for validation of spatial data (X and Y data) on solid waste reported by community members. Location of sites was conducted by 76 residents of the La Nopalera community (Yautepec, Morelos, Mexico) and compared with reports by three environmental health experts. Agreement was explored using Procrustes analysis. Experts identified 23 sites with abundant solid waste, while community members only identified 22 sites. There were minimal differences in location, scale, and positioning of reported waste. Procrustes statistics showed 95% agreement between community and expert reports. The findings suggest that community knowledge can be a valid source of information in epidemiological studies, and that measurement error can be quantified. The simple methodology described here can be used in further "popular epidemiology" studies or similar approaches.