From Design to Dissemination: Implementing Community-Based Participatory Research in Postdisaster Communities

Maureen Lichtveld; Suzanne Kennedy; Rebecca Z Krouse; Faye Grimsley; Jane El-Dahr; Keith Bordelon; Yvonne Sterling; LuAnn White; Natasha Barlow; Shannon DeGruy; Dorothy Paul; Stacey Denham; Claire Hayes; Margaret Sanders; Mosanda M Mvula; Eleanor Thornton; Patricia Chulada; Herman Mitchell; William J Martin 2nd; Kevin U Stephens; Richard D Cohn

doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303169

From Design to Dissemination: Implementing Community-Based Participatory Research in Postdisaster Communities

Am J Public Health. 2016 Jul;106(7):1235-42. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303169. Epub 2016 May 19.

Authors

Maureen Lichtveld¹, Suzanne Kennedy¹, Rebecca Z Krouse¹, Faye Grimsley¹, Jane El-Dahr¹, Keith Bordelon¹, Yvonne Sterling¹, LuAnn White¹, Natasha Barlow¹, Shannon DeGruy¹, Dorothy Paul¹, Stacey Denham¹, Claire Hayes¹, Margaret Sanders¹, Mosanda M Mvula¹, Eleanor Thornton¹, Patricia Chulada¹, Herman Mitchell¹, William J Martin 2nd¹, Kevin U Stephens¹, Richard D Cohn¹

Affiliation

¹ At the time of the study, Maureen Lichtveld, Faye Grimsley, LuAnn White, Natasha Barlow, Shannon DeGruy, and Dorothy Paul were with the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. Suzanne Kennedy, Rebecca Z. Krouse, and Herman Mitchell were with Rho Federal Systems Division Inc, Chapel Hill, NC. Jane El-Dahr was with the Department of Pediatrics, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans. Keith Bordelon and Richard D. Cohn were with the Constella Group, LLC, Durham, NC. Yvonne Sterling was with the Health Sciences Center School of Nursing, Louisiana State University, New Orleans. Stacey Denham, Claire Hayes, Margaret Sanders, Mosanda M. Mvula, and Kevin U. Stephens were with the New Orleans Health Department, New Orleans. Eleanor Thornton was with Visionary Consulting Partners, LLC, Fairfax, VA. Patricia Chulada and William J. Martin II were with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC.

Abstract

Objectives: To review how disasters introduce unique challenges to conducting population-based research and community-based participatory research (CBPR).

Methods: From 2007-2009, we conducted the Head-off Environmental Asthma in Louisiana (HEAL) Study in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in a Gulf Coast community facing an unprecedented triple burden: Katrina's and other disasters' impact on the environment and health, historic health disparities, and persistent environmental health threats.

Results: The unique triple burden influenced every research component; still, most existing CBPR principles were applicable, even though full adherence was not always feasible and additional tailored principles govern postdisaster settings.

Conclusions: Even in the most challenging postdisaster conditions, CBPR can be successfully designed, implemented, and disseminated while adhering to scientific rigor.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Capacity Building / organization & administration
Communication
Community-Based Participatory Research / organization & administration*
Cyclonic Storms
Disasters*
Environment
Female
Health Status
Humans
Interinstitutional Relations
Louisiana
Male
Research Design*
Socioeconomic Factors

Grants and funding

N01ES55553/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States