title: A Case Study of Community Involvement Influence on Policy Decisions: Victories of a Community-Based Participatory Research Partnership.
abstract: The Buffalo Lupus Project was a community-university partnership that investigated associations between exposure to a local waste site and high rates of lupus and other autoimmune diseases. The partnership's major accomplishment was successful advocacy for containment and clean-up of the site. As a result of community education, the remediation plan suggested by the community was adopted. Additionally, when a local childhood lead poisoning testing program was canceled, community members signed a letter to legislators urging them to replace the funding, which was restored within one week. This demonstrated how coordinated community-based capacity-building efforts can influence health policy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), 135 Cannon Street, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. wiled@musc.edu.
authors.forename: Edith M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: The Brotherhood/Sister Sol (Bro/Sis), 512 West 143rd Street, New York, NY 10031, USA. julien@brotherhood-sistersol.org.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Terrell
authors.affiliation: Environmental Justice Action Group (EJAG) of Western NY, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA. judie851@aol.com.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Primary Care Research Institute, University at Buffalo, UB Gateway Building, 77 Goodell St, Suite 220, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA. tumiel@buffalo.edu.
authors.forename: Laurene
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tumiel-Berhalter
mesh_terms: D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D003256:Community Participation; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D006266:Health Education; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007855:Lead Poisoning; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D014495:Universities
keywords: Lupus; Superfund; community-based participatory research; health policy