Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116577

Anne C. Rolfes, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, 1036 Napoleon Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70115, 5049143164, annerolfes@hotmail.com

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade (LABB) is an environmental health and justice organization supporting communities in using grassroots action to attain neighborhoods free from industrial pollution. The LABB is a statewide organization working with low to moderate wealth communities.

The LABB trains community members to use air sampling buckets to document exposure to toxic chemicals. This data is powerful evidence in the local campaigns because the community members have gathered the data themselves. It is usually the first time that they have their own evidence to advocate for pollution reduction.

Using this model of community control and action, the LABB has designed a low cost Community Designed Health Symptom Survey to help communities gather data about their health. This survey was created with the help of Dr. Peter Orris and graduate students from the Tulane School of Public Health.

This door to door survey generates numbers of people in a given neighborhood with symptoms correlated to exposure to chemicals found in community air samples. The results are compared to the National Health and Nutrition Survey to demonstrate how community results compare to other regions.

LABB is part of a national Bucket Brigade collaborative that empowers people to monitor their environment for themselves, take action to protect their health and achieve environmental justice.

We would like to present with other organizations - Global Community Monitor, Citizens for Environmental Justice, Community in Power and Development Association and the Community Environmental Forum Theater - that have submitted abstracts as part of this collaborative.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

• Identify the steps necessary to include the affected community in health symptom survey design.
• Apply the mechanisms for assuring community design and control of the health symptom survey.
• Discuss the possibility of conducting such a survey within their own community or work region
• Incorporate the results of community environmental monitoring in their health symptom survey.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.