The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #44235

Meredith Minkler, DrPH, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 140 Earl Warren Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, 510 642-4397, mink@uclink4.berkeley.edu

One of the critical differences between community based participatory research (CBPR) and more traditional approaches to inquiry lies in the former’s commitment to action and helping to foster social change as an integral part of the research process. Although not all CBPR in public health lends itself to the seeking of change on the policy level, CBPR practitioners increasingly are finding the opportunities for policy level action a potent component and outcome of collaborative research processes.

This paper will outline some key considerations and steps in the policy process, using examples from CBPR for health to illustrate each. Testing the waters, framing issues in ways that attract a wide constituency and build community capacity, developing concrete policy objectives, and designing alternative courses of action are among the steps discussed.

The paper then will offer several examples of efforts around the U.S. to influence health policy on the local and state levels through CBPR. Successful efforts in the areas of violence prevention, environmental justice, aging and occupational health will be highlighted, as will the importance of moving cautiously--and in some cases not taking action--when community partners decide that a proposed policy level initiative may not be in their community's best interests after all.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify four steps in the policy process with relevance for those engaged in community based participatory research.
• Give two examples of community based participatory research projects that were able to successfully promote a policy level change.
• Discuss two ways in which community based participatory research involvement in the policy arena can contribute to local capacity building.

Keywords: Community-Based Public Health, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.