You never really know what's important to a community until you ask them

Casa de Salud: A Model for Engaging Community, a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Project funded by the EPA Office of Research and Development, informed researchers that their method of engaging community was very successful, but the environmental health topic (high rates of pediatric asthma) was not the primary concern of residents. The project was conducted in the poorest city in Massachusetts among a population of 72,000 that is 70% Latino. Ten Promotoras (health promoters) were engaged to conduct outreach and education among residents in neighborhood settings (homes, churches, and public housing) to reduce asthma trigger factors. When participants in charlas (meetings) were asked, “If you could change anything in your environment, what would you change?” residents responded overwhelmingly “Trash!” Future sessions focused on recycling and secure storage and disposal of trash; cockroaches, rats, mice and the use of pesticides and rodenticides; and finally other indoor air issues that contribute to asthma. Surprisingly, in a session on mercury emissions from solid waste incinerators in the community, residents reported that mercury (azogue) is used in religious and superstitious practices, a topic that had not penetrated the cultural divide in the community even with Spanish speaking practitioners. Additional issues identified by residents included emissions from auto body shops in residential neighborhoods, accident and death rates among Latino construction workers, and traditional practices and products used for reproductive health. This input from the community underscored the importance of interactive communication in neighborhood settings led by community members to address community issues in participatory research.