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Community action against asthma

Examining the partnership process of a community-based participatory research project

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Community Action Against Asthma (CAAA) is a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project that assesses the effects of outdoor and indoor air quality on exacerbation of asthma in children, and tests household- and neighborhood-level interventions to reduce exposure to environmental asthma triggers. Representatives of community-based organizations, academia, an integrated health system, and the local health department work in partnership on CAAA’s Steering Committee (SC) to design and implement the project.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a process evaluation of the CAAA community-academic partnership.

DESIGN: In-depth interviews containing open-ended questions were conducted with SC members. Analysis included established methods for qualitative data, including focused coding and constant comparison methods.

SETTING: Community setting in Detroit, Michigan.

PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-three members of the CAAA SC.

MEASUREMENTS: Common themes identified by SC members relating to the partnership’s ability to achieve project goals and the successes and challenges facing the partnership itself.

MAIN RESULTS: Identified partnership accomplishments included: successful implementation of a complex project, identification of children with previously undiagnosed asthma, and diverse participation and community influence in SC decisions. Challenges included ensuring all partners’ influence in decision-making, the need to adjust to “a different way of doing things” in CBPR, constraints and costs of doing CBPR felt by all partners, ongoing need for communication and maintaining trust, and balancing the needs of science and the community through intervention.

CONCLUSIONS: CBPR can enhance and facilitate basic research, but care must be given to trust issues, governance issues, organizational culture, and costs of participation for all organizations involved.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the University of Michigan Schools of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Mich

    Toby C. Lewis MD, MPH

  2. Detroit Health Department, Detroit, Mich

    Wilma Brakefield-Caldwell BSN

  3. Community Health and Social Services Center, Detroit, Mich

    Erminia Ramirez MSW

  4. Friends of Parkside, Detroit, Mich

    Zachary Rowe BA

  5. Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1420 Washington Heights, 48109-2029, Ann Arbor, MI

    Edith A. Parker DrPH, Barbara A. Israel DrPH, Melina Williams MPH, Toby C. Lewis MD, MPH, Thomas Robins MD, MPH & Gerald Keeler PhD

Authors
  1. Edith A. Parker DrPH
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  2. Barbara A. Israel DrPH
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  3. Melina Williams MPH
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  4. Wilma Brakefield-Caldwell BSN
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  5. Toby C. Lewis MD, MPH
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  6. Thomas Robins MD, MPH
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  7. Erminia Ramirez MSW
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  8. Zachary Rowe BA
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  9. Gerald Keeler PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Edith A. Parker DrPH.

Additional information

Ms. Brakefield-Caldwell is retired from the Detroit Health Department.

Community Action Against Asthma is a community-based participatory research project of the Michigan Center for the Environment and Children’s Health (MCECH) aimed at investigating the influence of environmental factors on childhood asthma. We acknowledge the contributions of all of the partners involved in this collaborative effort: University of Michigan Schools of Public Health and Medicine, the Detroit Health Department, the Michigan Department of Agriculture, Plant and Pest Management Division, and 9 community-based organizations in Detroit (Butzel Family Center, Community Health and Social Services Center (CHASS), Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, Friends of Parkside, Kettering/Butzel Health Initiative, Latino Family Services, United Community Housing Coalition and Warren/Conner Development Coalition), and Henry Ford Health System. MCECH, established in 1998, is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (grant number P01-ES09589). MCECH is affiliated with the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center (URC), a collaboration among partners from academia, the local health department, community-based organizations, and an integrated health system. The Detroit URC is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Please refer to www.sph.umich.edu/urc for more information. We also thank Sue Andersen and Kathy Edgren for their assistance in preparation of this manuscript.

Funding for this project comes from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (grant number P01-ES09589).

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Parker, E.A., Israel, B.A., Williams, M. et al. Community action against asthma. J GEN INTERN MED 18, 558–567 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003.20322.x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003.20322.x

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