title: GRACE: public health recovery methods following an environmental disaster.
abstract: Different approaches are necessary when community-based participatory research (CBPR) of environmental illness is initiated after an environmental disaster within a community. Often such events are viewed as golden scientific opportunities to do epidemiological studies. However, the authors believe that in such circumstances, community engagement and empowerment needs to be integrated into the public health service efforts in order for both those and any science to be successful, with special care being taken to address the immediate health needs of the community first, rather than the pressing needs to answer important scientific questions. The authors will demonstrate how they have simultaneously provided valuable public health service, embedded generalizable scientific knowledge, and built a successful foundation for supplemental CBPR through their on-going recovery work after the chlorine gas disaster in Graniteville, South Carolina.
authors.affiliation: Arnold School of Public Health and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Columbia, SC, USA. svendsee@gwm.sc.edu
authors.forename: Erik R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Svendsen
authors.forename: Nancy C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Whittle
authors.forename: Louisiana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: McKeown
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sprayberry
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heim
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caldwell
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Vena
mesh_terms: D055884:Chemical Hazard Release; D002713:Chlorine / Q000506:poisoning*; D003710:Demography; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D004190:Disasters; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods*; D011890:Railroads; D012066:Relief Work / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013022:South Carolina
chemical_list: D002713:Chlorine