Vecinos y Rehabilitation (Phase II): Assessing the Needs and Resources of Indigenous People with Disabilities in the Mixteca Region of Oaxaca, Mexico. Final Report. [English Version.]

This report describes the second phase of a project that identified the circumstances and needs of disabled indigenous people in three geographic areas of Oaxaca state, Mexico. Assisted by a Mixteca disabilities consumer organization and an advisory committee of government officials, health care educators, community service providers, and indigenous people with disabilities, U.S. researchers conducted the project to determine the feasibility of research and training projects for disabled indigenous people in remote, rural Mexican communities. The researchers also looked into continuing to develop a program of information exchange between Mexico and the United States involving experts in the field of rehabilitation and Native peoples. A culturally sensitive survey instrument was developed and administered to 140 indigenous adults and children with disabilities in the Mixteca region. Approximately two-thirds of those surveyed were from rural towns and villages; the remaining one-third were from the city of Huajuapan de Leon. Results indicate great need for physical rehabilitation, employment, health care, emotional support, and education. The majority of adult respondents did not receive an income and had no more than an elementary education; most school-age children with disabilities had no education. All respondents reported no access to local resources or services that could help them with their disability. Even though the majority from each subgroup was unemployed, urban dwellers and men reported higher rates of employment. These findings helped a local grassroots organization to secure funding for the initial steps in development of a comprehensive rehabilitation program. Appendices include graphics illustrating an integrated rehabilitation center, a map of the Mixteca region, the survey instrument, advisory committee letters of support, a congress agenda, three presentations, and a summary of roundtable discussions and recommendations at the First Congress Regarding Disability in the Mixteca (August 1996). (TD)