Community-Based Participatory Research in Boston’s Neighborhoods: A Review of Asthma Case Examples.
Arch Environ Occup Health. 2010 Jan-Mar 1;65(1):38-44
Authors: Brugge D, Rivera-Carrasco E, Zotter J, Leung A
Three case examples of asthma studies that differ in terms of community and involvement are considered. The Boston Chinatown studies faced limited funding that restricted the level of community involvement, but resulted in some of the first published evidence about asthma in Asian American children. These studies led to an asthma education program grant to a local Asian clinic and elementary school. The public housing study was a well-funded multi-year study of asthma and pest management with city, university and community partners. Residents were trained to collect data and participated throughout the study. Follow up pest management and pesticide buy-back programs headed by the city and community partners have been funded. The Dorchester case had more limited funding, but had the greatest level of involvement of parents of asthmatic children in all phases of the research. This survey led to an interesting novel finding of lower asthma prevalence in foreign born black residents.
PMID: 20147002 [PubMed - in process]
…more
MMP12, lung function, and COPD in high-risk populations.
N Engl J Med. 2009 Dec 31;361(27):2599-608
Authors: Hunninghake GM, Cho MH, Tesfaigzi Y, Soto-Quiros ME, Avila L, Lasky-Su J, Stidley C, Melén E, Söderhäll C, Hallberg J, Kull I, Kere J, Svartengren M, Pershagen G, Wickman M, Lange C, Demeo DL, Hersh CP, Klanderman BJ, Raby BA, Sparrow D, Shapiro SD, Silverman EK, Litonjua AA, Weiss ST, Celedón JC
BACKGROUND: Genetic variants influencing lung function in children and adults may ultimately lead to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), particularly in high-risk groups. METHODS: We tested for an association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene encoding matrix metalloproteinase 12 (MMP12) and a measure of lung function (prebronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV(1)]) in more than 8300 subjects in seven cohorts that included children and adults. Within the Normative Aging Study (NAS), a cohort of initially healthy adult men, we tested for an association between SNPs that were associated with FEV(1) and the time to the onset of COPD. We then examined the relationship between MMP12 SNPs and COPD in two cohorts of adults with COPD or at risk for COPD. RESULTS: The minor allele (G) of a functional variant in the promoter region of MMP12 (rs2276109 [-82A-->G]) was positively associated with FEV(1) in a combined analysis of children with asthma and adult former and current smokers in all cohorts (P=2×10(-6)). This allele was also associated with a reduced risk of the onset of COPD in the NAS cohort (hazard ratio, 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46 to 0.92; P=0.02) and with a reduced risk of COPD in a cohort of smokers (odds ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.88; P=0.005) and among participants in a family-based study of early-onset COPD (P=0.006). CONCLUSIONS: The minor allele of a SNP in MMP12 (rs2276109) is associated with a positive effect on lung function in children with asthma and in adults who smoke. This allele is also associated with a reduced risk of COPD in adult smokers.
PMID: 20018959 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
…more
Eight years of building community partnerships and trust: the UCLA family medicine community-based participatory research experience.
Acad Med. 2009 Oct;84(10):1426-33
Authors: Moreno G, Rodríguez MA, Lopez GA, Bholat MA, Dowling PT
Acknowledging the growing disparities in health and health care that exist among immigrant families and minority populations in large urban communities, the UCLA Department of Family Medicine (DFM) sought a leadership role in the development of family medicine training and community-based participatory research (CBPR). Performing CBPR requires that academic medicine departments build sustainable and long-term community partnerships. The authors describe the eight-year (2000-2008) process of building sustainable community partnerships and trust between the UCLA DFM and the Sun Valley community, located in Los Angeles County.The authors used case studies of three research areas of concentration (asthma, diabetes prevention, and establishing access to primary care) to describe how they established community trust and sustained long-term community research partnerships. In preparing each case study, they used an iterative process to review qualitative data.Many lessons were common across their research concentration areas. They included the importance of (1) having clear and concrete community benefits, (2) supporting an academic-community champion, (3) political advocacy, (4) partnering with diverse organizations, (5) long-term academic commitment, and (6) medical student involvement. The authors found that establishing a long-term relationship and trust was a prerequisite to successfully initiate CBPR activities that included an asthma school-based screening program, community walking groups, and one of the largest school-based primary care clinics in the United States.Their eight-year experience in the Sun Valley community underscores how academic-community research partnerships can result in benefits of high value to communities and academic departments.
PMID: 19881437 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
…more
