[Entornos de Vida tool: innovation in participatory health analysis with an equity approach]

Abstract

Municipal governments have the capacity to tackle the social determinants of health that play a role in their territories. The Valencian Community's local health action strategy promotes an intersectoral, participatory and equity-oriented approach to health inequalities affecting neighborhoods and municipalities across the region. To guide local health action, there is a need to adopt methodologies that capture community-based knowledge and experiences, encouraging community engagement at all stages. This article presents a methodology to carry out a local health needs assessment applying the Entornos de Vida tool. This tool enables the analysis of neighborhoods and municipalities through identifying how their characteristics have an impact on the health and well-being of their inhabitants.

Keywords: Community participation; Determinantes sociales; Encuestas y cuestionarios; Equidad; Health equity; Health promotion; Participación de la comunidad; Promoción de la salud; Salud urbana; Social determinants of health; Surveys and questionnaires; Urban health.