Exploration of Work and Health Disparities among Black Women Employed in Poultry Processing in the Rural South

Abstract

We describe an ongoing collaboration that developed as academic investigators responded to a specific request from community members to document health effects on black women of employment in poultry-processing plants in rural North Carolina. Primary outcomes of interest are upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders and function as well as quality of life. Because of concerns of community women and the history of poor labor relations, we decided to conduct this longitudinal study in a manner that did not require involvement of the employer. To provide more detailed insights into the effects of this type of employment, the epidemiologic analyses are supplemented by ethnographic interviews. The resulting approach requires community collaboration. Community-based staff, as paid members of the research team, manage the local project office, recruit and retain participants, conduct interviews, coordinate physical assessments, and participate in outreach. Other community members assisted in the design of the data collection tools and the recruitment of longitudinal study participants and took part in the ethnographic component of the study. This presentation provides an example of one model through which academic researchers and community members can work together productively under challenging circumstances. Notable accomplishments include the recruitment and retention of a cohort of low-income rural black women, often considered hard to reach in research studies. This community-based project includes a number of elements associated with community-based participatory research.

The West End Revitalization Association's Community-Owned and -Managed Research Model: Development, Implementation, and Action

“…We acknowledge that similar results are achievable through CBPR methods 2,6,8,11,13,14,18,68,83 ; however, we believe that the COMR methods developed by WERA provide a viable alternative approach to UMRMs and CBPR to achieve the EJ goals of marginalized communities. The development, application, and implementation of the COMR model in Mebane, North Carolina, has allowed WERA to develop strong coalitions with affected stakeholders and research advocates and positioned WERA to be a dynamic force for change of grassroots training, environmental planning, and public health policies both locally and nationally.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] The CBPR approach (1) acknowledges the community as a unit of identity, (2) builds on community strengths and resources, (3) facilitates a collaborative, equitable partnership involving power sharing and empowerment process, (4) fosters co-learning and capacity building, (5) focuses on a balance between knowledge production and intervention, …”

The Value and Challenges of Participatory Research: Strengthening Its Practice

“…Because PR is an approach (41), orientation (89) or way of working (121), it can employ a diverse range of study designs, methodologies, and methods (52,88)-from environmental assessments (74,80,119) to randomized controlled trials (62), photovoice (137), and qualitative case studies (53,87). The scientific merits of PR have traditionally been judged according to the standards of researchers' disciplinary and/or methodological areas of expertise: internal and external validity for quantitative research and credibility and transferability for qualitative research.…”

Ethnographic Evaluation of a Lay Health Promoter Program to Reduce Occupational Injuries among Latino Poultry Processing Workers

“…1,2 The birds are taken from their cages, stunned, and hung by their feet on hooks on an overhead moving belt. They are killed, plucked, eviscerated, often deboned, and packaged-all at a speed of more than one bird per worker per second.…”