222567 Research to action: Chinese immigrant restaurant workers apply popular education and community based research for social justice

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 : 9:00 AM - 9:15 AM

Pamela Tau Lee , School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Meredith Minkler, DrPH , UCal Berkeley School of Public Health, Berkeley, CA
Charlotte Chang, MPH , University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Robin Baker, MPH , Labor Occupational Health Program, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Niklas Krause, MD, PhD , School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, Richmond, CA
Alicia Salvatore, MPH , University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
     
This presentation describes the training and extensive involvement of low wage immigrant restaurant workers in a community-based participatory (CBPR) partnership to address the workers' concerns with occupational health and safety in San Francisco's Chinatown district. Formation and functioning of a partnership between a Chinese community based worker center organization, a local health department, and faculty and staff at two research universities, together with 17 restaurant workers is described, as are the two levels of data collection (restaurant, n=106 and individual worker, n= 433) undertaken. We then focus on the training of a core group of restaurant workers and their extensive involvement in instrument construction, survey administration, data interpretation, and dissemination and use of the findings to begin working for relevant policy change. Contributions of the project to individual and community capacity building among all team members is explored. This partnership spanned a period of 4 years and is currently in the action: campaign and policy development phase.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Occupational health and safety
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Define education for action and CBPR (community based participatory research) and identify four of its core principles. Identify three methods used to involve and train low wage immigrant workers to participate in all stages of the Chinatown Restaurant Worker Study. Describe three challenges faced in involving immigrant workers in CBPR partnerships and means of addressing them.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to be an abstract Author on the content I am responsible for directing the field research component for the project.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 5070.0: Occupational Health Disparities Institute: Addressing disparities through participatory research