Community-Based Participatory Research: A Vehicle to Promote Public Engagement for Environmental Health in China

Abstract

BackgroundIn the past 25 years, China has experienced remarkable economic growth and rapid agricultural-to-industrial and rural-to-urban transitions. As a consequence, China now faces many daunting environmental challenges that are significantly affecting human health and quality of life, including indoor and outdoor air pollution, water pollution, deforestation, loss of agricultural land, and sustainability. Chinese government leaders have recently emphasized the need for better environmental protection practices along with interventions involving strong public participation.ObjectivesCommunity-based participatory research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research that involves community members, organizational representatives, and researchers as equal participants in all phases of the research process. Over the past 15 years, CBPR has gained recognition and acceptance and is now valued as a means to effect change and provide scientific knowledge relevant to human health and the environment. In this article we highlight the success of CBPR in the United States and suggest that it could be a useful model for addressing environmental health problems in the People’s Republic of China.DiscussionCBPR can reduce the tension between science and society by promoting genuine communication, by enabling scientists and administrators to listen and respond to the public, by allowing communities to help shape the research agenda, and by increasing accountability of researchers and governments to the public.ConclusionsCBPR can potentially help improve environmental health in China, but it is likely to take a different form than it has in the West because the government will be leading the way.

The Weak Link: Diagnosing Political and Social Factors in China’s Environmental Issue

“…Given the subordinate position of the environmental agencies, legislation and enforcement of the environmental policies should be hinged upon the authority of the state and local governments. Meanwhile, by adopting "green GDP" (Ali et al, 2008), industrial leaders should employ energy-efficient production mechanism and amend the ways in which economic activities proceed, such as manufacturing, resource distribution, and mass consumption (Ali et al, 2008;Muldavin, 2000;Sinkule & Ortolano, 2000).…”

“…The unprecedented agricultural-to-industrial and rural-tourban advancement (Ali et al, 2008;Sims, 1999) has boosted China's economy in a fast track, but the central government's concern with the environmental issue was slackened and remained irresolute in years. Under the guidelines of concentrating on economic development, industrialization is universally considered by government officials as the only path leading to modernization, a notion so called "first pollution and then remediation", which suggests an obsession with the economic development while overlooking other important social aspects, as well as the unintended aftermath that it will potentially bring about.…”

Using mixed methods to visualize the water-health nexus: identifying problems, searching for solutions

“…CBPR is based on a set of four guiding principles: (1) that co-learning occurs between researcher and participant; (2) that the goal of the research is not only to examine an issue, but also to provide capacity building for the research community; (3) that the findings and knowledge benefit all partners; and (4) that there is a long-term commitment to increase wellbeing and decrease health disparities (Wallerstein & Duran, 2006). When used as a tool in health research, it comprehensively looks at the multiple, interlinking factors that act as determinants (Ali, Olden, & Xu, 2008). CBPR has some clear advantages; not only can CBPR allow increased researcher insight, it creates a condition whereby participants can actively control changes to the determinants of their health (Cargo & Mercer, 2008).…”

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to study children's health in China: Experiences and reflections

“…CBPR principles have been successfully applied to the development and the conduct of an increasing number of public health research projects (Bogart and Uyeda, 2009; Brown et al, 2005; Din-Dzietham et al, 2004; Krieger et al, 2002; Lengerich et al, 2007; Metzler et al, 2003; Parker et al, 2003; Paschal et al, 2008; Pazoki et al, 2007; Savage et al, 2006). The CBPR model can be seen as research “with” the community rather than research “on” the community (Ali et al, 2008). In addition, the model can serve as a bridge between participating parents and students, government representatives, and researchers.…”

“…The children’s health in China is threatened by both traditional and emerging environmental pollutants (Ye et al, 2007). Though the governmental structure in China is different than in the US, the long history of collaborations between the government, industry, and communities in China suggests that CBPR may be an effective way to foster environmental awareness within communities and encourage different groups to take action on environmental issues (Ali et al, 2008). To date, there have been no published accounts of full-scale CBPR projects in China.…”