文章基本信息

标题：Partnerships for Environmental and Occupational Justice: Contributions to Research, Capacity and Public Health
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作者：Sherry Baron ; Raymond Sinclair ; Devon Payne-Sturges 等
期刊名称：American journal of public health
印刷版ISSN：0090-0036
出版年度：2009
卷号：99
期号：Suppl 3
页码：S517-S525
DOI：10.2105/AJPH.2009.174557
语种：English
出版社：American Public Health Association
摘要：In 1994, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) initiated a program to address communication gaps between community residents, researchers and health care providers in the context of disproportionate environmental exposures. Over 13 years, together with the Environmental Protection Agency and National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, NIEHS funded 54 environmental justice projects. Here we examine the methods used and outcomes produced based on data gathered from summaries submitted for annual grantees' meetings. Data highlight how projects fulfilled program objectives of improving community awareness and capacity and the positive public health and public policy outcomes achieved. Our findings underscore the importance of community participation in developing effective, culturally sensitive interventions and emphasize the importance of systematic program planning and evaluation. IN THE LATE 1980S, THE ENVI- ronmental justice movement emerged to address the disproportionate burden of environmental exposures on low-income and minority communities.^{1 , 2} Concerned communities raised awareness of the myriad environmental and health issues they faced and called for the federal government to respond.³ In 1993, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a 2-day workshop on research needs to address environmental justice and equity that generated recommendations including the need to engage community groups in the research discussion.^{4 , 5} In 1994, 6 government agencies with the support of community and academic leaders convened the first federal environmental justice symposium, Health Research and Needs to Ensure Environmental Justice, to seek recommendations by community leaders, workers, business and academic representatives, diverse government personnel, and the broader scientific community. One key recommendation was improving communication and trust among partners.^{3 , 6} In response, NIEHS issued the first of many funding announcements, Environmental Justice: Partnerships for Communication. Subsequently joined by the EPA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Partnerships for Communication became a 13-year interagency program, funding 54 projects addressing a wide spectrum of environmental and occupational exposures across communities both urban and rural ( Table 1 ).⁷ Projects were funded for 4 years (with reapplication possible) at $150 000 to $200 000 annually (direct costs) and required the collaboration of 3 partners: a research organization, a community-based organization, and a health care–provider organization. The 54 projects were funded separately by the agencies, but the program was coordinated as an interagency initiative through the use of a common project summary form and an annual grantees' meeting during which scientific progress was shared. TABLE 1 Projects Funded by the NIEHS, NIOSH, and EPA Under the Partnerships for Communication Program: 1994–2007 Project Title Issue Population Lead Organization Dates Akwesasne First Environment Communications Program Environmental contamination Native Americans CBO 1994–2003 Southeast Los Angeles Environmental Health Project Environmental contamination Latinos CBO 1994–2003 Risk Management In Native American Communities Radiation Native Americans University 1994–2003 Environment Justice Partnership For Communication Air and water pollution African Americans University 1995–1999 Richmond Laotian Environmental Justice Collaboration Lead, toxic emissions, fish contamination Laotians CBO 1995–1999 Community Responsive Partners For Environmental Health Hazardous waste and pesticides African Americans and farmworkers CBO 1995–1999 Southeast Asian Environmental Health–Lowell Partnership Hazardous waste Southeast Asians University 1995–2004 Lower Price Hill Environmental Leadership Coalition Industrial chemicals contamination Indigent Whites CBO 1996–2005 Environmental Justice Outreach In Northern Manhattan Lead, air pollution African Americans and Latinos CBO 1996–2005 Community Health And Environmental Reawakening Livestock, toxic waste, industrial pollution African Americans University 1996–2008 Health, Opportunities, Problem-Solving, and Empowerment Reproductive health Southeast Asian women CBO 1999–2003 Silicon Valley Environmental Health and Justice Project Hazardous waste Latinos and Asians CBO 1999–2003 Network For Responsible Stewardship Hazardous wastes (military sites) Alaska Natives CBO 1996–2000 Uranium Education In The Navajo Nation Uranium Native Americans University 1996–2002 Community Outreach For CTD Screening In High Risk Groups Systemic lupus erythematosis African Americans University 2000–2003 Environmental Justice For St Lawrence Island, Alaska Hazardous wastes Alaska Natives University 2000–2004 Environmental Impacts On Arab Americans In Metro Detroit Inner-city environmental pollution Indigent Arab Americans CBO 2000–2004 Casa De Salud: A Model For Engaging Community Asthma, lead Latinos CBO 2000–2004 Land Use, Environmental Justice, And Children's HealthCLEAN Air pollution Latinos CBO 2000–2008 Casa A Campo: Pesticide Safety For Farmworkers' Families Pesticides Latinos University 2001–2005 Community Assist Of Southern Arizona Heavy metals Latinos CBO 2001–2005 Community Partnership For Asthma Prevention Indoor and outdoor allergens Inner-city children University 2001–2005 Asthma And Lead Prevention In Chicago Public Housing Indoor allergens, lead African Americans and Puerto Ricans CBO 2001–2005 Fish Consumption Risk Communication In Ethnic Milwaukee Chemical contamination Latinos and Hmong University 2001–2005 Dietary Risks And Benefits In Alaskan Villages Chemical contamination Native Americans CBO 2001–2005 South Valley Partners In Environmental Justice Industrial and agricultural chemicals Latinos and Native Americans Health department 2001–2005 Contaminated Subsistence Fish: A Yakama Nation Response Water contamination Native Americans CBO 2001–2005 Williamsburg Brooklyn Asthma and Environmental Consortium Environmental and occupational asthma Latinos CBO 2001–2005 Bioaccumulative Toxics In Native American Shellfish Chemical contaminants Native Americans CBO 2001–2005 South Bronx Environmental Justice Partnership Air quality, toxic exposures Indigent inner-city populations University 2001–2009 Community Health Intervention With Yakima Agricultural Workers Occupational hazards Latino farmworkers University 2003–2007 Community Collaborations For Farmworker Health And Safety Occupational hazards Farmworkers University 2003–2007 Day Laborers United With The Community Occupational hazards Hispanic day laborers Health department 2003–2007 Communities Organized Against Asthma And Lead (COAL) Asthma triggers, lead Latinos University 2003–2007 Community Exposure To Perfluorooctanate Perfluorooctanates contamination The Appalachian community University 2003–2007 Harlem Children's Zone Asthma Initiative Asthma African Americans CBO 2003–2007 Dorchester Occupational Health Initiative Occupational hazards Vietnamese and Cape Verdeans CBO 2003–2007 Work Environment Justice Partnership for Brazilian Immigrants Solvents and other occupational hazards Brazilian workers University 2003–2007 Healthy Homes & Community for High Point Families Multiple environmental exposures Public-housing residents Health department 2003–2007 Healthy Food, Healthy Schools and Healthy Communities Obesity, diabetes Urban, low-income Latinos University 2003–2007 JUSTA: Justice and Health for Poultry Workers Occupational hazards Rural Latino poultry workers University 2004–2008 Promoting Occupational Health Among Indigenous Farmworkers in Oregon Occupational hazards Indigenous farmworkers CBO 2004–2008 Asian Girls for Environmental Health Chemicals in beauty products Asian women CBO 2004–2008 Linking Breast Cancer Advocacy and Environmental Justice Endocrine-disrupting compounds and other chemicals African American and Latino women CBO 2004–2008 Environmental Justice on Cheyenne River Mercury, arsenic, other heavy metals Native Americans Health care provider 2004–2008 Strengthening Vulnerable Communities in Worcester Toxic chemicals, violence Low-income populations University 2004–2008 Diné Network For Environmental Health (DiNEH) Project Uranium, heavy metals Native Americans University 2004–2008 Partnership to Reduce Asthma and Obesity in Latino Schools Indoor air quality, pests Latino children CBO 2004–2008 Environmental Health and Justice in Norton Sound, Alaska Formerly used defense sites Alaska Natives CBO 2005–2009 Alton Park/Piney Woods Environmental Health and Justice Chemical contamination African Americans University 2005–2009 Building Food Justice in East New York Inequitable access to healthy food African Americans and Latinos University 2005–2009 South Valley Partners for Environmental Justice Land-use decisions and urban sprawl Latinos and low-income populations CBO 2005–2009 Assessing and Controlling Occupational Health Risks in Somerville, MA Occupational hazards Immigrant workers University 2005–2009 New York Restaurant Worker Health and Safety Project Occupational hazards Immigrant workers CBO 2005–2009 Open in a separate window Note. NIEHS = National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; NIOSH = National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health; EPA = Environmental Protection Agency; CBO = community-based organization; CTD = connective tissue disorder. The structure of the program changed little over time, but adjustments were made to strengthen it. Initially the program's objective was to build bridges among the 3 required partners (community groups, health care professionals, and researchers), to build trust, to provide community residents with access to information, and to improve researchers' capacity to work in partnership with communities. In 1998, a second objective was added that encouraged partnerships to develop research strategies to identify, assess, and reduce environmental and occupational exposures and improve public health.⁷ In 2002, applicants were required to include an evaluation plan to measure public health impact and were encouraged to involve a social scientist in evaluation planning. Demonstrating the success of large federal programs using measurable outcome-based metrics is essential to securing continued support.^{8 , 9} Here we examine the program's accomplishments in achieving its 2 broad objectives: (1) establish methods for linking members of a community who are directly affected by adverse environmental and occupational conditions with researchers and health care providers, and (2) enable partnerships to develop appropriate research strategies to address environmental and occupational health problems of concern in order to impact public health and health policy.⁷