Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Ask and Answer Questions Regarding the Environment and Health

Northridge, Mary E.; Shoemaker, Katherine; Jean-Louis, Betina; Ortiz, Benjamin; Swaner, Rachel; Vaughan, Roger; Cushman, Linda F.; Hutchinson, Vincent E.; Nicholas, Stephen W.

doi:10.1289/ehp.7642

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Over the past 15 years, CBPR has gained wider recognition and acceptance and is now valued as a means to effect change and to provide scientific knowledge relevant to human health and the environment. For other examples and for more comprehensive treatment of the success of CBPR, we refer readers to Israel et al (1998) , O’Fallon and Dearry (2001) , O’Fallon et al (2003) , Northridge et al (2005) , and Wing (2005) .…”

Section: Cbpr Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…CBPR in the United States was initiated by government agencies in response to activism by community groups concerned about the impact of the environment on their health. The ultimate success of this effort to involve communities in environmental health research required strong leadership and support of government agencies ( Northridge et al 2005 ; Olden et al 2001 ). Top-down or government-initiated efforts to promote CBPR, without pressure from community groups, could be just as effective in China as the United States model, provided the Chinese government is serious about involving community residents.…”

Section: Context Dependency Of Cbprmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Ali

Olden

2008

Environ Health Perspect

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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.

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Section: Cbpr Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Context Dependency Of Cbprmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Ali

Olden

2008

Environ Health Perspect

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“…Unlike conventional positivist scientific research CBPR can ask (and may be able to answer) questions about health, environment and poverty that matter most to those most vulnerable [46]. Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist, coined the term action research in the 1940s: the marriage of academic research and community interests to effect social change [47].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…CBPR is founded on such methods [ 8 - 10 ], and promotes the active involvement of communities in the shaping of research and intervention, as well as implementation and evaluation of research projects [ 11 ]. Unlike conventional positivist scientific research CBPR can ask (and may be able to answer) questions about health, environment and poverty that matter most to those most vulnerable [ 46 ]. Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist, coined the term action research in the 1940s: the marriage of academic research and community interests to effect social change [ 47 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participatory testing and reporting in an environmental-justice community of Worcester, Massachusetts: a pilot project

et al. 2010

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BackgroundDespite indoor home environments being where people spend most time, involving residents in testing those environments has been very limited, especially in marginalized communities. We piloted participatory testing and reporting that combined relatively simple tests with actionable reporting to empower residents in Main South/Piedmont neighborhoods of Worcester, Massachusetts. We answered: 1) How do we design and implement the approach for neighborhood and household environments using participatory methods? 2) What do pilot tests reveal? 3) How does our experience inform testing practice?MethodsThe approach was designed and implemented with community partners using community-based participatory research. Residents and researchers tested fourteen homes for: lead in dust indoors, soil outdoors, paint indoors and drinking water; radon in basement air; PM2.5 in indoor air; mold spores in indoor/outdoor air; and drinking water quality. Monitoring of neighborhood particulates by residents and researchers used real-time data to stimulate dialogue.ResultsGiven the newness of our partnership and unforeseen conflicts, we achieved moderate-high success overall based on process and outcome criteria: methods, test results, reporting, lessons learned. The conflict burden we experienced may be attributable less to generic university-community differences in interests/culture, and more to territoriality and interpersonal issues. Lead-in-paint touch-swab results were poor proxies for lead-in-dust. Of eight units tested in summer, three had very high lead-in-dust (>1000 μg/ft2), six exceeded at least one USEPA standard for lead-in-dust and/or soil. Tap water tests showed no significant exposures. Monitoring of neighborhood particulates raised awareness of environmental health risks, especially asthma.ConclusionsTimely reporting back home-toxics' results to residents is ethical but it must be empowering. Future work should fund the active participation of a few motivated residents as representatives of the target population. Although difficult and demanding in time and effort, the approach can educate residents and inform exposure assessment. It should be considered as a core ingredient of comprehensive household toxics' testing, and has potential to improve participant retention and the overall positive impact of long-term environmental health research efforts.

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“…CBPR offers distinct advantages over traditional positivist scientific research: 1) it can ask and sometimes answer questions about environment and health that matter to the people who bear the burden of adverse environmental health outcomes (Northridge et al 2005); and 2) it can help build the requisite collective capacity among residents-at-risk, CBOs, public health agencies, policy makers and scientists to respond to priority problems with strategic, cost-effective and sustainable changes in policies and practices (Downs and Larson 2007). The increasing traction of CBPR-based projects is a reflection of growing awareness about the limitations of traditional biomedical approaches to both explain and adequately address health disparities, especially in marginalized populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexities of holistic community-based participatory research for a low income, multi-ethnic population exposed to multiple built-environment stressors in Worcester, Massachusetts

Downs

Ross

Patton

et al. 2009

Environmental Research

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Low income, multi-ethnic communities in Main South/Piedmont neighborhoods of Worcester, Massachusetts are exposed to cumulative, chronic built-environment stressors, and have limited capacity to respond, magnifying their vulnerability to adverse health outcomes. “Neighborhood STRENGTH”, our community based participatory research (CBPR) project, comprised four partners: a youth center; an environmental non-profit; a community based health center; and a university. Unlike most CBPR projects that are single topic-focused, our ‘holistic’, systems-based project targeted five priorities. The three research-focused/action-oriented components were: 1) participatory monitoring of indoor and outdoor pollution; 2) learning about health needs and concerns of residents through community based listening sessions; and 3) engaging in collaborative survey work, including a household vulnerability survey and an asthma prevalence survey for schoolchildren. The two action-focused/research-informed components were: 4) tackling persistent street trash and illegal dumping strategically; and 5) educating and empowering youth to promote environmental justice. We used a coupled CBPR-capacity building approach to design, vulnerability theory to frame, and mixed methods: quantitative environmental testing and qualitative surveys. Process and outcomes yielded important lessons: vulnerability theory helps frame issues holistically; having several topic-based projects yielded useful information, but was hard to manage and articulate to the public; access to, and engagement with, the target population was very difficult and would have benefited greatly from having representative residents who were paid at the partners' table. Engagement with residents and conflict burden varied highly across components. Notwithstanding, we built enabling capacity, strengthened our understanding of vulnerability, and are able to share valuable experiential knowledge.

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Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Ask and Answer Questions Regarding the Environment and Health

Cited by 5 publications

References 11 publications

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

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

Participatory testing and reporting in an environmental-justice community of Worcester, Massachusetts: a pilot project

Complexities of holistic community-based participatory research for a low income, multi-ethnic population exposed to multiple built-environment stressors in Worcester, Massachusetts

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