OBJECTIVE:To determine whether access to health information via in-home Internet technology can positively influence empowerment among residents of a low-income urban community. DESIGN:In-home Internet access and training were provided to volunteers, who, along with a comparison group, were interviewed prior to and 1 year after initiation of the program. Community-based participatory research methods were used to design and implement the intervention.SETTING: A 57-block area on the West Side of Chicago. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS:Twenty-five community residents completed all phases of the technology intervention. Thirtyfive randomly selected neighbors of these residents served as the comparison group. INTERVENTIONS: Members of the intervention group receivedInternet access via WebTV, training, technical support, and access to a community specific health-oriented web page during the course of the study. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:Intervention group members were similar to comparison group members in terms of empowerment at baseline. After receiving Internet access and training, empowerment related to health decision-making improved significantly in the intervention group. Similar changes did not occur in the comparison group. Affinity for and appreciation of information technology also increased in the intervention group but not in the comparison group. As a result, differences in attitudes toward technology increased between the 2 groups over time.CONCLUSIONS: Using community-based participatory research methods, we found that Internet access to communityspecific and general health information can lead to increased empowerment and appreciation of information technology. These benefits accrued among the intervention group but not among a random group of their neighbors.

Community psychologists often conduct research in collaboration with marginalized communities in which safety is an issue. However, we rarely talk about what specific safety issues we experience and how we deal with them. Our story describes the realities and myths of neighborhood safety that were experienced in a low-income African American neighborhood of Chicago, while collaborating on a project designed to increase access to the Internet to obtain health information. We examine both the challenges experienced and our responses in the context of a community intervention planned, implemented, and evaluated by a partnership team composed of various stakeholders. Critical lessons such as the importance of building on community strengths and the need to be aware of our own biases are discussed.

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