Shelley Facente, MPH, Carol Kolb, MS, and Sarah Johnson, MS. School of Public Health, UC Berkeley, 3235 26th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110, 415-642-4733, sfacente@cal.berkeley.edu

Summary: For student researchers with limited time and funding, it is easy when conducting a rapid assessment of exposure to environmental hazards in a community to follow scientifically rigorous methods without regard for the communication and trust relationships between research team and community members.

Methods: During winter break, a student-organized team of MPH students traveled to a barrio outside of Santo Domingo to conduct household surveys and water quality testing to determine potential health impacts from upstream industrial pollution.

Results: Despite extensive planning, community members remained closed and uninterested, effectively halting progress, until student researchers disregarded the original plan and showed willingness to modify research protocol to better meet the needs of the community.

Conclusion: While the final result of the investigation was less scientifically rigorous, it better served the needs of the community and opened communication lines such that further research could be conducted in the coming summer. This was especially important because of the marginalization of the community leaders within their own environment, and their suspicion of the motivations of foreign researchers claiming to be interested in helping them in their goals.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Articulate the importance of communication and trust-building with community leaders throughout the course of research.
• Identify three factors that are not normally considered in the course of environmental research that may affect the process and outcome of such research.
• Discuss the value of maintaining a community-centered approach throughout the course of research, rather than adhering to requirements of scientific rigor to the detriment of the community.

Keywords: Community Health Assessment, Environmental Justice

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.