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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Rania A. Sabty–Daily, PhD, MPH, REHS, Health Science Program, California State University Los Angeles, 5151 State University Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90032, (323)343-5867, rsabtyd@calstatela.edu

Public health of a community is dependent upon the healthfulness of that community's environment. Evidence shows that low-income minority communities are disproportionately exposed to many environmental hazards such as lead, pesticides, mold, cockroach allergens and dust mites. Studies have associated these hazards with asthma, lower IQs, memory loss, agitation, neurological disorders and other health effects, particularly among children. Children receive greater exposures to environmental pollutants present in air, food and water because of their physiological and behavioral characteristics. This exploratory study, utilizes a Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach, built on the Vulnerable Populations Conceptual Framework and a participatory research framework, to gain an understanding of environmental hazards that impact children's health in a predominantly latino low-income housing development of 660 homes. CBPR methods used in this study include: 1) the use of a community advisory board to build linguistically appropriate and culturally sensitive questions for collecting information about environmental hazards of concern to the community, 2) the use of focus groups comprised of parents or grandparents in the community to identify environmental hazards to children, 3) the use of focus groups to prioritize environmental hazards and develop an action plan to minimize exposure of children to hazards, and 4) the identification of available and practical local resources that can be utilized by the community to implement an action plan that would later be presented to all community residents. Lessons learned from the initial implementation phases of the study will be presented; advantages and challenges will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: