In the past few decades, community-based participatory research, which underscores the indispensable role of the community in all phases of the research process, has been recognized as a viable approach to working constructively with communities to achieve mutually beneficial goals. This article presents a history of the Asian Tobacco Education, Cancer Awareness and Research’s pioneering efforts in conducting community-based participatory research among Asian Americans in the Delaware Valley region of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Information about project background, target populations, and the rationale for the conduct of community-based participatory research in American communities is provided. It also delineates the manner in which the principles of community-based participatory research were applied as guides for the development of partnership infrastructures, research programs, and the challenges and barriers that were encountered. Facilitating factors in partnership building, and implications of employing this model in this ethnically and racially diverse population, are further discussed.
American Lung Association. (2002). American Lung Association fact sheet Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and tobacco. Retrieved January 31, 2003 from www.lungusa.org/tobacco/asian_factsheet99.html
2.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1992a). Behavioral risk factor survey of Chinese—California, 1989. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 41(16), 266-270.
3.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1992b). Behavioral risk factor survey of Vietnamese—California, 1991. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 41(16), 69-72.
4.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1992c). Cigarette smoking among Chinese, Vietnamese, and Hispanics—California, 1989-1991. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 41(20), 362-367.
5.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1997). Behavioral risk factor survey of Korean Americans—Alameda County, California, 1994. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 46(33), 774-777.
6.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Urban Research Centers. (2001). CDC urban research centers: Community-based participatory research to improve the health of urban communities. Journal of Women’s Health and Gender-Based Medicine, 10(1), 9-15.
7.
Chan, S. (1991). Entry denied: Exclusion and the Chinese community in America 1882-1943. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
8.
Chen, A. M., Wismer, B. A., Lew, R., Kang, S. H., Min, K., Moskowitz, J. M., et al. (1997). “Health is strength”: A research collaboration involving Korean Americans in Alameda County. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 13(2 Suppl), S93-S100.
9.
Eisinger, A., & Senturia, K. (2001). Doing community-driven research: A description of Seattle Partners for Healthy Communities. Journal of Urban Health, 78(3), 519-534.
10.
Fawcett, S. B., Paine-Andrews, A., Francisco, V. T., et al. (1996). Empowering community health initiatives through evaluation. In D. M. Fetterman, S. J. Kaftarian, & A. Wandersman (Ed.), Empowerment evaluation: Knowledge and tools for self-assessment and accountability (pp. 161-187). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
11.
Francisco, V. T, Paine, A. L., & Fawcett, S. B. (1993). A methodology for monitoring and evaluating community health coalitions. Health Education Research, 8, 403-416.
12.
Freudenberg, N. (2001). Case history of the Center for Urban Epidemiologic studies in New York City. Journal of Urban Health, 78(3), 508-518.
13.
Gamble, V. N. (1993). A legacy of distrust: African Americans and medical research. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 9, 35-38.
14.
Gamble, V. N. (1997). Under the shadow of Tuskegee: African Americans and health care. American Journal of Public Health, 97(11), 1773-1778.
15.
Griffin, F. N. (1994). Perceptions of African American women regarding health care. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 1(2), 32-35.
16.
Hatch, J., Moss, N., Saran, A., Presley-Cantrell, L., & Mallory, C. (1993). Community-research: Partnership in Black communities. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 9(6 Suppl), S27-S31.
17.
Higgins, D. L., & Metzler, M. (2001). Implementing community-based participatory research centers in diverse urban settings. Journal of Urban Health, 78(3), 488-494.
18.
Israel, B. A., Lichtenstein, R., Lantz, P., McGranaghan, R., Allen, A., Guzman, R.et al. (2001). The Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center: Development, implementation, and evaluation. Journal of Public Health Management Practice, 7(5), 1-19.
19.
Israel, B. A., Schulz, A. J., Parker, E. A., & Becker, A. B. (1998). Review of community-based research: Assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 19, 173-202.
20.
Israel, B. A., Schurman, S. J., & Hugentobler, M. K. (1992). Conducting action research: Relationships between organization members and researchers. Journal of Applied Behavior Science, 28, 74-101.
21.
Jenkins, C. N., McPhee, S. J., Bird, J. A., & Bonilla, N. T. (1990). Cancer risks and prevention practices among Vietnamese refugees. Western Journal of Medicine, 153, 34-39.
22.
Jenkins, C. N., McPhee, S. J., Bird, J. A., et al. (1992). Regional variation in smoking prevalence among Vietnamese-American men. Abstract presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, Washington, DC.
23.
Jenkins, C. N., McPhee, S. J., Ha, N., Nam, T. V., & Chen, A. (1995). Cigarette smoking among Vietnamese immigrants in California. American Journal of Health Promotion, 9(4), 254-256.
24.
Kegler, M. C., Steckler, A., McLeroy, K., & Malek, S. H. (1998). Factors that contribute to effective community health promotion coalitions: A study of 10 projects ASSIST coalitions in North Carolina. Health Education and Behavior, 25, 338-353.
25.
Kim, K. K., Yu, E. S. H., Chen, E. H., Kim, J., Brintnall, R., & Vance, S. (2000). Smoking behavior, knowledge, and beliefs among Korean Americans. Cancer Practice, 8(5), 223-230.
26.
Kretzmann, J. P., & McKnight, J. L. (1993). Building communities from the inside out: A path toward finding and mobilizing a community’s assets. Chicago: ACTA Publications.
27.
Lantz, P. M., Viruell-Fuenters, E., Israel, B. A., Softley, D., & Guzman R. (2001). Can communities and academic work together on public health research? Evaluation results from a community-based participatory research partnership in Detroit. Journal of Urban Health, 78(3), 495-507.
28.
Ma, G. X., & Fleisher, L. (in press). Awareness of cancer information among Asian Americans. Journal of Community Health.
29.
Ma, G. X., Shive, S., Tan, Y., & Toubbeh, J. (2002). Prevalence and predictors of tobacco use among Asian Americans in the Delaware Valley region. American Journal of Public Health, 92(6), 1013-1020.
30.
Ma, G. X., Tan, Y., Feeley, R., & Thomas, P. (2002). Perceived risks of certain types of cancer and heart disease among Asian American smokers and non-smokers. Journal of Community Health, 27(4), 233-246.
31.
Ma, G. X., Tan, Y., Toubheh, J., & Su, X. (in press). Differences in stages of change of smoking behavior among four Asian American subgroups current smokers. Addictive Behaviors.
32.
Macaulay, A., Gibson, N., Commanda, L., McCabe, M., Robbins, C., & Twohig, P. (1998, November 6). Responsible research with communities: participatory research in primary care. North American Primary Care Research Group Policy Statement. Available at www.napcrg.org
33.
Maciak, B. J., Guzman, R., Santiago, A., Villalobos, G., & Israel, B. A. (1999). Establishing LA VIDA: A community-based partnership to prevent intimate violence against Latino women. Health Education and Behavior, 26(6), 821-840.
34.
Marin, G., Burhansstipanov, L., Connell, C. M., Gielen, A., Helitzer-Allen, D., Lorig, K., et al. (1995). A research agenda for health education among under-served populations. Health Education Quarterly, 22(3), 346-363.
35.
Mayeno, L., & Hirota, S. M. (1994). Access to health care. In N. W. Zane, D., Tackeuchi, & K. N. Young (Eds.), Confronting critical health issues of Asian and Pacific Islanders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
36.
McLaughlin, L. A., & Braun, K. L. (1998). Asian and Pacific Islander cultural values: Considerations for health care decision making. Health and Social Work, 23(2), 116-126.
37.
Minkler, M., & Wallerstein, N. (1997). Improving health through community organization and community building. In K. Glanz, F. M. Lewis, & B. K. Rimer (Eds.), Health behavior and health education - Theory, research, and practice (pp. 241-269). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
38.
Moeschberger, M. L., Anderson, J., Kuo, Y., Chen, M. S., Wewers, M., & Guthrie, R. (1997). Multivariate profile of smoking in Southeast Asian men: A biochemically verified analysis. Preventive Medicine, 26, 53-58.
39.
O’Hare, W. P. (1990, October). Asian Americans—The fastest growing minority. American Demography, p., 26-31.
40.
Putman, R. D. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
41.
Quandt, S. A., Arcury, T. A., & Pell, A. I. (2001). Something for everyone? A community and academic partnership to address farmworker pesticide exposure in North Carolina. Environmental Health Perspectives, 109(3 Suppl), S435-S441.
42.
Quigley, D., Handy, D., Goble, R., Sanchez, V., & George, P. (2000). Participatory research strategies in nuclear risk management for native communities. Journal of Health Communication, 5(4), 305-331.
43.
Reese, D. J., Ahern, R. E., Nair, S., O’Faire, J. D., & Warren, C. (1999). Hospice access and use by African Americans: Addressing cultural and institutional barriers through participatory action research. Social Work, 44(6), 549-559.
44.
Resnicow, K., Soler, R., Braithwaite, R. L., Ahluwalia, J. S., & Butler, J. (2000). Cultural sensitivity in substance use prevention. Journal of Community Psychology, 28(3), 271-290.
45.
Rodriguez, R. (1999). The power of the collective: Battered migrant farmworker women creating safe spaces. Health Care Women International, 20(4), 417-426.
46.
Roussos, S. T., & Fawcett, S. B. (2000). A review of collaborative partnerships as a strategy for improving community health. Annual Review of Public Health, 21, 369-402.
47.
Shaverers-Hornaday, V. L., Lynch, C. F., Burmeister, L. F., & Torner, J. C. (1997). Why are African-Americans under-represented in medical research studies: Impediments to participation?Ethnicity and Health, 2(1/2), 31-45.
48.
Sullivan, M., Kone, A., Senturia, K. D., Chrisman, N. J., Ciske, S. J., & Krieger, J. W. (2001). Researcher and research-community perspectives: Toward bridging the gap. Health Education and Behavior, 28(2), 130-149.
49.
Tanjasiri, S., Wallace, S. P., & Shibata, K. (1995). Picture imperfect: Hidden problems among Asian and Pacific Islander elderly. The Gerontologist, 35, 753-760.
50.
Tsark, J. A. (2001). A participatory research approach to address data needs in tobacco use among Native Hawaiians. Asian American and Pacific Islander Journal of Health, 9(1), 40-48.
51.
U.S. Bureau of Census. (1990). 1990 census of population (112th ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
52.
U.S. Bureau of Census. (2000). Census 2000. Retrieved March 1, 2002, from http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet
53.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1990). Healthy people 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
54.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1998). Tobacco use among U.S. racial/ethnic minority groups—African Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics: A report of the surgeon general. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of Smoking and Health.
55.
Watson, M. R., Horowitz, A. M., Garcia, I., & Canto, M. T. (2001). A community participatory oral health promotion program in an inner-city Latino community. Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 61(1), 34-41.
56.
Wiecha, J. M., Lee, V., & Hodgkins, J. (1998). Patterns of smoking, risk factor for smoking, and smoking cessation among Vietnamese men in Massachusetts (United States). Tobacco Control, 7, 27-34.
57.
William, D. R., & Collins, C. (1995). US socioeconomic and racial differences in health: patterns and explanations. Annual Review of Sociology, 21, 349-386.
58.
Yu, E. S. H., Chen, E. H., Kim, K. K., & Abdulrahim, S. (2002). Smoking among Chinese Americans: Behavior, knowledge, and beliefs. American Journal of Public Health, 92(6), 1007-1012.
