142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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298971
Assessing Exposures in Cambodian Asbestos Abatement Workers: A University-Community Partnership

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 8:46 AM - 9:02 AM

Cora Roelofs, ScD , Community Health Program, Tufts University, Medford, MA
Visal Chin, MD, MPH
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Many Cambodian refugees and immigrants in Lowell, MA (the second largest Cambodian population in the US) have found employment in the asbestos abatement trade beginning in the 1980's to the present.  Regulations at the federal and state level have spurred demand for removal of asbestos from public buildings such as schools and have set guidelines to protect both workers and building occupants from asbestos hazards. In order to design culturally- and linguistically-appropriate assessment and intervention strategies, learn of the actual exposure and protection experience of the abatement workers, and assess potential respiratory disease in the population, a University-Community partnership was formed to undertake an occupational health survey and respiratory disease screening protocol in the population. We will report on the key factors promoting this community-based participatory research partnership, preliminary results of key informant and survey findings, and describe the intergration of clinical assessment into community-based occupational health research. 

Learning Areas:

Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Clinical medicine applied in public health
Diversity and culture
Occupational health and safety
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the experience of Lowell, MA Cambodian refugees in the asbestos abatement trade Describe approaches for successful community partnerships to investigate exposures and disease in vulnerable hard to reach populations

Keyword(s): Occupational Health and Safety, Refugees

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been an academic occupational health researcher for almost 20 years, specializing in asbestos and the experience of immigrant construction workers. I have received numerous federal grants to explore community-based research approaches.
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: 3060.0: Partnerships for OHS research and action