Documenting the impacts of community- based participatory research on environmental justice policy: Findings from two multi-site case studies

Community based participatory research (CPBR) differs from more traditional approaches to inquiry in part because of its commitment to action, often including policy action, as an integral part of the research process. This paper draws on findings from two multi-site case study analyses which together explored 16 CBPR partnerships, in California and across nation, that appeared to have made substantial contributions to helping promote healthy public policy. Two of the environmental justice case studies, from Harlem, New York, and Old Town National City, California respectively, then are used to demonstrate how community engagement both strengthened the research and helped in the translation and use of study findings to help promote specific policy measures designed to reduce exposure to toxic air contaminants and foster changes in the broader policy environment. The case studies also will illustrate the importance of enhancing procedural justice, as well as distributive justice, in environmental health policy efforts in low income communities of color. Key success factors across the 16 sites will be highlighted, as will challenges faced both in undertaking policy-focused CBPR for environmental health, and in teasing apart CBPR's contributions to policy change from those of other stakeholders and contextual factors. The presentation will conclude with recommendations for other CBPR partnerships interested in working to help move policy supportive of environmental justice on the local through the national levels.