Citizens of contaminated communities concerned about their health occasionally choose to conduct a health study to learn more about their community and to stimulate action by government or other institutions. Public health scientists can learn from the citizens' knowledge of local conditions, citizens can learn the strengths and limitations of health surveys, and communities can be empowered to prevent future harm from toxic exposures. This article describes three examples of popular epidemiology studies in the United States, presents completed or preliminary data, and summarizes lessons learned.
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