Beyond the gap: An exploration of how community based participatory research can help to understand and decrease the effect of social and economic disparities on health

This dissertation describes how community based participatory research (CBPR) can contribute to the practice of social epidemiology and the development of public health interventions. Within the field of social epidemiology there is a clear need to document more than the association between social and economic disparities and health but move onto understanding and intervening upon the pathways between them. This dissertation points to community based participatory research as a strategy that can be used to understand and act upon the pathways between disparities and health in particular communities. Community Based Participatory Research is a way to do epidemiologic research and identify public health issues starting with the life experiences of community members rather with pre-conceived ideas about risk factors. Chapter one is a case-study of a project guided by Asians and Pacific Islanders for Reproductive Health that demonstrates Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) with Cambodian high school age girls in Long Beach, California. The girls worked to research and address the problem of sexual harassment in their schools. The theory and principles that guided the project and the girl's identification of sexual harassment as an issue they wished to explore and address is described. The research and action components of the project then are discussed.;Chapter two examines the data collected in a cross-sectional study for this project regarding sexual harassment of girls in high school. The prevalence of sexual harassment was extremely high (81.8%). The overall frequency of harassment does not vary significantly by demographic characteristics with the exception of race which suggest little if any significant confounding by these factors. Girls who experience more sexual harassment report worse physical health, more negative health behaviors, and more barriers to success at school.;Chapter three describes the field of social epidemiology including how it has been defined, what theories it has created and/or incorporated and what it's contributions to public health have been. The possible contributions of community based participatory research to social epidemiology and public health are then explored.