Studying and Addressing Urban Immigrant Restaurant Worker Health and Safety in San Francisco’s Chinatown District: A CBPR Case Study

Abstract

With its emphasis on empowerment, individual and community capacity building, and translating research findings into action, community-based participatory research (CBPR) may be particularly advantageous in work with urban immigrant populations. This paper highlights eight ways in which CBPR has been shown to add value to work with urban underserved communities. It then describes the background, context, and methods of an ecological CBPR project, the Chinatown Restaurant Worker Health and Safety Study, conducted in San Francisco, California, and draws on study processes and outcomes to illustrate each of the eight areas identified. Challenges of using CBPR, particularly with urban immigrant populations, briefly are described, drawing again on the Chinatown study to provide illustrative examples. We discuss lessons learned, through this and other studies, for the effective use of CBPR with urban immigrant populations. We conclude that despite its challenges, this transdisciplinary, community-partnered and action-oriented approach to inquiry can make substantial contributions to both the processes and the outcomes of the research.

Partnering with insiders: A review of peer models across community-engaged research, education and social care

“…However, when described, peer models have the potential to benefit peers themselves, prevent disease/poor health outcomes, improve health and social care, empower communities and enhance research methodology. Overall, the outcomes and benefits in the reviewed articles are aligned with previous literature noting benefits of community engagement in research for peers, their communities and the quality of the research, education or social care (Chang et al., ; Domecq et al., ; Woodall et al., ). As noted in several of the reviewed articles, peers working within peer models can benefit directly from increased knowledge and practice of research skills, enhanced self‐esteem, confidence and feelings of empowerment, improvements in knowledge/information about health, chronic disease and well‐being, leadership opportunities, greater access to resources and increased peer support networks (Allen et al., ; Colleran et al., ; Downey et al., ; Ghahramani, ; Houlihan et al., ; James, ; John et al., ; Lazarus et al., ; Madrigal et al., ; Ramsden, Martin, McMillan, Granger‐Brown, & Tole, ; Schutt & Rogers, ; Woodall et al., ).…”

“…Utilising a peer model also has benefits and advantages for the peer communities including actionable project findings/results applicable to the community, improved health and social services, enhanced understanding of community needs and priorities and increased awareness of important issues at community level, social change and justice (Baynes et al., ; Boise et al., ; Brown et al., ; Calhoun, ; Chen et al., ; Cortez et al., ; Dill, ; Downey et al., ; Gabriel et al., ). Furthermore, working with peers in a peer model can improve the quality of research, education and interventions in terms of recruitment, contextually and culturally relevant questionnaires, methods and techniques, data collection and screening, interpretation of results and translation and dissemination of findings (Chang et al., ; Horowitz, Brenner, Lachapelle, Amara, & Arniella, ; Hull et al., ; Martin et al., ; McElfish et al., ; Minkler et al., ; Olsson et al., ; Sharma et al., ; Topmiller, Zhen‐Duan, Jacquez, & Vaughn, ).…”

“…Such an investment may also contribute to peers losing interest and enthusiasm as the research process moves along with more focus, input and energy at earlier stages of the projects compared to later stages (Van Staa, Jedeloo, Latour, & Trappenburg, ). On the other hand, noted benefits of peer models include increased quality and rigour in research (Balazs & Morello‐Frosch, ; Brett et al., ; Buchanan, Miller, & Wallerstein, ; Diaz, Johnson, & Arcury, ), higher participant engagement and ownership of the research process, enhanced understanding of community needs, development of more relevant research questions, enriched research interpretation, wider dissemination and translation of results and increased sustainability (Balazs & Morello‐Frosch, ; Chang et al., ). In addition, a peer model can result in overall improvements in the project outcomes, offer expanded social networks and opportunities, increased sense of community and enhanced community capacity for the peers (Im & Rosenberg, ; Jurkowski et al., ; Newell & South, ; Stevenson, ; Vaughn et al., ).…”

Disaggregating Data on Asian American and Pacific Islander Women to Provide New Insights on Potential Exposures to Hazardous Air Pollutants in California

“…Ethnic enclaves for AAPI populations have inspired names such as Chinatown, Japantown, Koreatown, and Little Saigon (46,47). There is a growing body of literature focusing on protective effects against some health problems (48,49) as well as environmental concerns within these enclaves (47,(50)(51)(52)(53). Although our study was not specifically designed to characterize environmental exposure potentials for Asian-specific ethnic enclaves, our results suggest a need to consider broader features of the ethnic enclave concept in relation to environmental exposures and how that may influence a variety of health outcomes.…”

Working in the Shadows: Safety and Health in Forestry Services in Southern Oregon

“…This was a key component of the participatory approach to the research. Traditional research approaches have encountered significant barriers in engaging immigrant populations, including language and cultural barriers, as well as distrust of research and fear of disclosing information or participating in research activities, due to immigration status, fear of retaliation, or earlier life experiences (Farquhar et al 2005, Marais 2007, Minkler et al 2010, Chang et al 2013). By involving and training trusted community members who were knowledgeable about the conditions forest workers live and work in, we hoped to address some of these barriers.…”