Participatory Research Strategies in Nuclear Risk Management for Native Communities

Abstract

The Nuclear Risk Management for Native Communities (NRMNC) project is a collaborative academic, community-based, tribal project, which conducts the three essential elements of participatory research: research, education, and community action, named here as "community-based hazards management." This article describes the goals and outcomes of this effort in assisting Native American communities in Nevada, Utah, and Southern California affected by nuclear fallout from U.S. weapons testing in the 1950s and 1960s. The NRMNC project sought to create new models for dealing with health research and risk communication needs in an environmental justice setting. The following results of this four-year project are discussed: (1) building a community-based environmental health infrastructure, (2) building community capacities through workshops and educational materials, (3) conducting both technical and community research, and (4) facilitating community-based hazards management planning. We describe such positive outcomes as the improvements in the scientific database through participatory research activities, the development of equitable relationships between scientists and community members, and the creation of a sustaining program intervention for long-term community needs. The project's outcomes are presented as an expansion to limited scientific risk management outcomes in the environmental health field that often are solely quantitative and lack relevance to community concerns about environmental health impacts from contamination.

Native Americans: Where in Environmental Justice Research?

“…A participatory approach characterizes much Native American environmental justice research (e.g., Arquette et al 2002; Minkler et al 2008; Quigley et al 2000; Whyte 2011). Participation ranges in terms of involvement throughout the process, including design of data collection instruments, risk assessments, presentation of findings, and development of educational materials to involvement in only one or two aspects of the research endeavor (Arquette et al 2002; Minkler et al 2008; Quigley et al 2000).…”

“…Participation ranges in terms of involvement throughout the process, including design of data collection instruments, risk assessments, presentation of findings, and development of educational materials to involvement in only one or two aspects of the research endeavor (Arquette et al 2002; Minkler et al 2008; Quigley et al 2000). The goal of much participatory research is to improve poorly conducted risk assessments and to create more appropriate assessments that more accurately reflect Native American environmental and health understandings.…”

“…Quigley and colleagues (2000) argue that participatory research outcomes are far more preferable to the traditional environmental health approaches whereby a technical team determines a health research methodology, with minimal community accountability, and conducts a health study whose findings have little meaning or benefit, and often are more of a detriment, to the communities' health protection. (324)…”

“…Indeed, participatory research has proven to be beneficial for tribal communities in creating more accurate rubrics concerning risk assessments, effectively distributing research findings to stakeholders, as well as empowering Native American communities to address environmental and social injustices (Minkler et al 2008; Shepard et al 2002). For example, in Quigley and colleagues (2000) work on the Nuclear Risk Management for Native Communities (NRMNC)6 project, they found positive outcomes of a participatory research effort that included reduction of unequal power relationships between researchers and community members.…”

Dialectic Approaches and Public Policy Interactions for Social, Environmental and Health Problems: Challenges for Health Promotion across Territorial Scales

“…der environmental injustice or social exclusion. As the example of native communities exposed to radiation hazards [21] we also have experiences with engagement of community actors to avoid risk factors to heart disease and diabetes though promoting healthy behaviors and environments [26], or participatory research and job training with rural works in Cambodia aiming at avoiding the transmission of transboundary infectious diseases [27]. In summary, the local approaches have focus on stimulating and promoting a high quality of community engagement within distinct phases of research and interventions as the Community-based participatory research demands [12].…”