The health politics of asthma: environmental justice and collective illness experience in the United States

Brown, Phil; Mayer, Brian; Zavestoski, Stephen; Luebke, Theo; Mandelbaum, Joshua; McCormick, Sabrina

doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(02)00375-1

Cited by 104 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…As of now, there is no literature of antioxidant defenses and racial background affecting responses to air pollution. However, it is known that areas of increased pollution owing to traffic and urban development are frequently worse in areas where minorities reside (47)(48)(49). Next, most, but not all, asthmatics were atopic; therefore some misclassification did occur.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of Ambient Ozone Exposure with Airway Inflammation and Allergy in Adults with Asthma

et al. 2009

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Rationale-Previous studies have demonstrated associations of high ozone levels with increased epidemiologic as well as lung function measures of asthma activity.Objectives-In an observational study during the summer months, we hypothesized that higher ambient ozone levels are associated with more frequent symptoms, higher airway and systemic inflammation, as well as worse lung function in asthmatics as compared with non-asthmatic individuals.Methods-Thirty-eight asthmatics and thirteen healthy control subjects residing in metropolitan Atlanta were enrolled during peak ozone season. Medical histories, quality-of-life questionnaires, spirometry, serum immunoglobulin (IgE), peripheral eosinophil counts, and exhaled nitric oxide (NO) were obtained during study visits. Personal ozone exposures over the 2 days before presentation were estimated based on location and activity surveys.Main results-Upper airway symptoms were more frequent in asthmatics. Higher levels of ozone were associated with worse airflow obstruction, lower quality of life scores, greater eosinophilia, and higher exhaled NO levels in asthmatics. Finally, both asthmatics and non-asthmatics with allergies showed associations between air quality and airway inflammation.Conclusions-In adults with asthma but not controls studied during peak ozone season, increasing ozone exposure predicted lower lung function and increased biomarkers of respiratory and systemic inflammation. These associations were enhanced in atopic participants, both with and without asthma. Importantly, the study findings were noted while atmospheric ozone levels were predominantly within the current and revised national air quality standards.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of Ambient Ozone Exposure with Airway Inflammation and Allergy in Adults with Asthma

et al. 2009

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“…From a research perspective, as noted above, the 1996 Earth Crew study and the WE ACT partnership's careful look at the relationship between bus diesel emissions and asthma, are still widely cited. 8,18,19 Similarly, from a policy perspective, the conversion of New York City's bus fleet to Bclean diesel,^the EPA's initiation of permanent community based air monitoring in Northern Manhattan and other Bhot spots,^and New York's adoption of a State Environmental Justice Policy all were described in media accounts, scholarly articles, and by policy makers and others interviewed as having been substantially related to the work of WE ACT and its research partnership. As an academic partner commented, BThere weren't many community based studies that showed exposure to diesel particles at that time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, WE ACT's leadership role in creating awareness of and leading the fight for environmental justice and the reduction in health disparities around asthma has been widely recognized and cited. 8,18,19 As the WE ACT partnership demonstrates, carefully designed community based participatory research that is committed to strong science, high level community involvement, engagement in policy steps and activities, and the strategic use of study findings to help impact on policy can be an important part of the broader struggle for urban health and environmental justice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Environmental Health Policy Through Community Based Participatory Research: A Case Study from Harlem, New York

2006

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Community-academic partnerships have demonstrated potential for studying and improving community and environmental health, but only recently have their policy impacts been systematically studied. This case study highlights the evolution, research, and policy processes and outcomes of a community based participatory research (CBPR) partnership that has had multilevel impacts on health policy concerning diesel bus emissions and related environmental justice issues. The partnership between West Harlem Environmental ACTion, Inc. (WE ACT) and the Columbia University Center for Children's Environmental Health was explored using a multimethod case study approach. The conversion of New York City's bus fleet to clean diesel and the installation by the EPA of permanent air monitors in Harlem and other Bhot spots^were among the outcomes for which the partnership's research and policy work was given substantial credit. Lessons for other urban communityacademic partnerships interested in using CBPR to promote healthy public policy are discussed.

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“…Volunteerism is often conceived of as service provision, rather than collective mobilization, while the latter is stigmatized as too disruptive, unproductive, and idealistic. The citizen scientists found in the STS literature tend to be the "mischievous" type, activists who use citizen science to collectively challenge racism and politico-economic powers (Allen 2003;McCormick, Brown, and Zavestoski 2003;Brown et al 2003;Ottinger 2010b). But citizen scientists who take environmental and health issues into their own hands also frequently fit the neoliberal model of rational, capacious and self-responsible citizens (Ottinger 2010a).…”

Section: Neoliberalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen Science: Probing the Virtues and Contexts of Participatory Research

2016

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Citizen science is an increasingly popular activity, from bird counts to amateur water sample collection to air quality monitoring. Researchers and theorists in the field of science and technology studies (STS) have typically applauded these efforts because they make science more participatory, providing an example of the democratization of science, or, at least, more equitable engagement between experts and the lay public. However, a broader review of the literature on citizen science suggests that participation is but one of many virtues that practitioners and observers find in the practices of citizen science. This literature review makes two interventions. First, we discuss the dimensions of citizen science that do not easily fit in a typology or spectrum of participatory practices. We identify seven different virtues claimed of citizen science: increasing scientific data; increasing citizens' scientific literacy and awareness; building community capacity for environmental protection; building more equal relationship between scientists and citizens; filling knowledge gaps and challenging official accounts; driving policy change; and catching polluters. Second, we consider the social and political contexts that often create contradictory situations or dilemmas for citizen scientists. Going forward, a robust framework for the analysis of citizen science would not only address the ways scientific data is collected and put to a particular use, but also situate the project in relation to broader structural forces of scientization, neocolonialism, globalization, and neoliberalization.

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The health politics of asthma: environmental justice and collective illness experience in the United States

Cited by 104 publications

References 11 publications

Association of Ambient Ozone Exposure with Airway Inflammation and Allergy in Adults with Asthma

Association of Ambient Ozone Exposure with Airway Inflammation and Allergy in Adults with Asthma

Promoting Environmental Health Policy Through Community Based Participatory Research: A Case Study from Harlem, New York

Citizen Science: Probing the Virtues and Contexts of Participatory Research

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