Abstract
Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim approached faculty at Creighton and the College of
Saint Mary to assist them with designing a health assessment study. Following the
Participatory Action Research model, in which all stakeholders collaborate on
equal terms, we jointly designed with the Maya community a study exploring the
health needs of the community.
The ongoing health assessment study would have never come to fruition if both
the Maya community and the academic community had not already been mutually
involved, trusted each other, and had the opportunity to discuss together issues of
common interest. We argue that the existence of “communicative spaces” is
crucial for the development of community-based participatory studies.
We hope that this study will not only document health concerns and issues of the
Mayas living in Omaha but also help make the Maya community voice heard in the
city of Omaha and inform programs intended to alleviate the community’s health
needs. This collaborative study of Maya and university researchers should be a
solid step toward meeting the community’s health needs and building its capacity
to address health issues faced by members of the community.