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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Sara A. Quandt, PhD¹, Joseph G. Grzywacz, PhD², Antonio Marín, MA², Mercedes Hernández-Pelletier, MPH³, Tony Macias, BA⁴, Lourdes Carrillo, BS⁵, and Thomas A. Arcury, PhD². (1) Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, 336-716-6015, squandt@wfubmc.edu, (2) Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, (3) North Carolina Farmworkers Project, P.O. Box 352, Benson, NC 27504, (4) Student Action with Farmworkers, P. O. Box 90803, Durham, NC 27708, (5) Centro Latino of Caldwell County, Inc., P. O. Box 693, Lenoir, NC 28645

Immigrant workers experience significant health deficits resulting from marginal social position, distance from home and family, and economic constraints and obligations. Two projects in North Carolina have used community-researcher partnerships to address immigrant workers' health concerns in an environmental justice framework. Casa y Campo is a 4-year old partnership of the North Carolina Farmworkers Project, Student Action with Farmworkers, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) that aims to address pesticide exposure and other health issues of Latino farmworkers. Justicia y Salud para los Trabajadores Avícolas (JUSTA) is a 1-year old partnership of Centro Latino of Caldwell County, Inc., and WFUSM designed to address occupational and environmental health challenges facing Latino poultry processing workers. Although specific activities of these partnerships can be evaluated using traditional techniques, evaluation of the overall partnership is challenging. We evaluate the two partnerships by comparing the research activities undertaken at communities' requests and positive policy outcomes. Research in the areas of mental health, food security, and housing have been used by advocates to (1) influence state policy makers to tighten farmworker housing regulations and (2) to develop a community initiative to seek funds and farmworker participation in activities to increase access to affordable and appropriate food. Successes in the Casa partnership have helped design a strategy of publicizing research results and identifying and communicating with appropriate lobbyists and advocates to produce positive change for poultry workers. Overall, these studies suggest that policy change is an appropriate long-term indicator of partnership success.

Learning Objectives:

• List characteristics of successful community-researcher partnerships.
• Evaluate community-researcher partnerships using policy change as a criterion.
• Identify areas of possible policy change resulting from community-researcher partnerships.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation