Environmental Justice & Community-Based Participatory Research
Liam R. O'Fallon, M.A. (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/suppor
ted/dert/sphb/staff/ofallon/index.cfm) Tel (919) 541-7733 Fax
(919) 316-4606 In 1994, the Institute launched the Environmental
Justice: Partnerships for Communication Program. The purpose of
the program was to enable community residents to more actively
participate in the full spectrum of research. To achieve this
goal, the program was designed to bring together three partners:
a community organization, an environmental health researcher and
a health care professional to develop models and approaches to
building communication, trust and capacity, with the final goal
of increasing community participation in the research process.
The rationale of this program was multifaceted. - Community
residents are challenged daily to make decisions about what
exposures may be harmful to their health. Training and education
to better understand the exposures and their sources empowers
them to make i