Community based participatory research [CBPR] is a very powerful tool for creating policy change at the local, community, and national level. This presentation will discuss a project in rural North Carolina in which community residents and university members partnered to identify discriminatory disaster relief and housing policy and to effect changes in those policies.
The CBPR partnership, the Workers and Community Relief and Aid Project [WCRAP], is a community-based social justice coalition that was formed to help empower Hurricane Floyd survivors, to assess their experiences and needs, and to change current policies and practices. After being displaced into temporary housing sites following the 1999 flooding of Hurricane Floyd, many of the flood survivors reported incidences of unfair treatment, misinformation, a loss of community, and inadequate assistance. WCRAP conducted a survey with flood survivors to systematically document their experiences of relocation and the potential threats to health and community. A total of 270 survivors residing in 10 temporary housing sites were asked to describe their experiences, frustrations, and needs.
The presentation will address the ways in which local information, including in-depth interview data and photographs, collected and analyzed by the community members, can be applied to create policy change. The role of the university member, in terms of providing support and contributing to project goals as they are developed and articulated by community members, will also be discussed.
Learning Objectives: After the presentation, session participants will be able to: 1) describe the main tenets of CBPR, 2) begin to creatively apply the CPBR principles to determine policy deficiencies and create policy change, and 3) articulate the challenges and strengths of a community-campus partnership in rural public health research.
Keywords: Community-Based Partnership, Environmental Justice
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: University of North Carolina
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.