title: Community action against asthma: examining the partnership process of a community-based participatory research project.
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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community setting in Detroit, Michigan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-three members of the CAAA SC.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1420 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA. edithp@umich.edu
authors.forename: Edith A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: Barbara A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Israel
authors.forename: Melina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Wilma
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Brakefield-Caldwell
authors.forename: Toby C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Robins
authors.forename: Erminia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.forename: Zachary
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rowe
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Keeler
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003256:Community Participation / Q000379:methods; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008824:Michigan; D015279:Organizational Culture; D016730:Program Development; D035502:Trust