| Exploration of Work and Health Disparities among Black Women Employed in Poultry Processing in the Rural South Hester J. Lipscomb,1 Robin Argue,1 Mary Anne McDonald,1 John M. Dement,1 Carol A. Epling,1 Tamara James,1,2 Steve Wing,3 and Dana Loomis3,4 1Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA; 2Occupational and Environmental Safety, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA; 3Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; 4Department of Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina Abstract
We describe an ongoing collaboration that developed as academic investigators responded to a specific request from community members to document health effects on black women of employment in poultry-processing plants in rural North Carolina. Primary outcomes of interest are upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders and function as well as quality of life. Because of concerns of community women and the history of poor labor relations, we decided to conduct this longitudinal study in a manner that did not require involvement of the employer. To provide more detailed insights into the effects of this type of employment, the epidemiologic analyses are supplemented by ethnographic interviews. The resulting approach requires community collaboration. Community-based staff, as paid members of the research team, manage the local project office, recruit and retain participants, conduct interviews, coordinate physical assessments, and participate in outreach. Other community members assisted in the design of the data collection tools and the recruitment of longitudinal study participants and took part in the ethnographic component of the study. This presentation provides an example of one model through which academic researchers and community members can work together productively under challenging circumstances. Notable accomplishments include the recruitment and retention of a cohort of low-income rural black women, often considered hard to reach in research studies. This community-based project includes a number of elements associated with community-based participatory research. Key words: African American women, black women, community-based participatory research, health disparities, musculoskeletal disorder. Environ Health Perspect 113:1833-1840 (2005) . doi:10.1289/ehp.7912 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 18 July 2005]
This article is part of the mini-monograph "Community-Based Participatory Research." Address correspondence to H.J. Lipscomb, 2200 West Main St., Suite 700, Durham, NC 27705 USA. Telephone: (919) 286-1722, ext 256. Fax: (919) 286-1620. E-mail: hester.lipscomb@duke.edu The study population is referred to as black, as opposed to African American, throughout the manuscript, based on the preference of the community-based staff. The questionnaire used to collect musculoskeletal symptom data was adapted from the questionnaire developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Research Program for the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders. The physical exam protocol is based in large part on the protocol developed by E. Viikari-Juntura for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries Safety and Health Assessment and Research Program (SHARP) upper extremity musculoskeletal study. We acknowledge K. Wicker for her assistance in preparing the manuscript and for her many efforts coordinating the project. We thank C. Slatin from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell for his thoughtful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. We also acknowledge the substantial and essential contributions of the community-based staff, including E. Pender, R. Perry, C. Rankins, and C. Rodgers. L. Williams is acknowledged posthumously. She was the inspiration behind this project, seeking academic partners to address issues of health disparities in her community. Her death in September 2003 has been a challenge for those of us who valued her as a colleague and friend. This project is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Institute of Arthritis Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases grant R01 ES10939-01. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 28 December 2004 ; accepted 21 June 2005.
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