Community Science as a Pathway for Resilience in Response to a Public Health Crisis in Flint, Michigan

Jennifer S. Carrera, Kent Key, Sarah Bailey, Joseph A. Hamm, Courtney A. Cuthbertson, E. Yvonne Lewis, Susan J. Woolford, E. Hill DeLoney, Ella Greene-Moton, Kaneesha Wallace, DeWaun E. Robinson, Ismael Byers, Patricia Piechowski, Luther Evans, Athena McKay, Don Vereen, Arlene Sparks and Karen Calhoun
Additional contact information
Jennifer S. Carrera: Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lasing, MI 48824, USA
Kent Key: College of Human Medicine: Flint, Michigan State University, Flint, MI 48502, USA
Sarah Bailey: Community Based Organization Partners, Flint, MI 48502, USA
Joseph A. Hamm: Environmental Science and Policy Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Courtney A. Cuthbertson: Michigan State University Extension, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
E. Yvonne Lewis: National Center for African American Health Consciousness, Flint, MI 48502, USA
Susan J. Woolford: Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
E. Hill DeLoney: Community Based Organization Partners, Flint, MI 48502, USA
Ella Greene-Moton: Community Ethics Review Board, Flint, MI 48502, USA
Kaneesha Wallace: Healthy Flint Research Coordinating Center, Flint, MI 48502, USA
DeWaun E. Robinson: Community Based Organization Partners, Flint, MI 48502, USA
Ismael Byers: Hope College, Holland, MI 49423, USA
Patricia Piechowski: Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Luther Evans: Community Based Organization Partners, Flint, MI 48502, USA
Athena McKay: Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Don Vereen: Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Arlene Sparks: Community Based Organization Partners, Flint, MI 48502, USA
Karen Calhoun: Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

Social Sciences, 2019, vol. 8, issue 3, 1-25

Abstract: While the story of the Flint water crisis has frequently been told, even sympathetic analyses have largely worked to make invisible the significant actions of Flint residents to protect and advocate for their community. Leaving the voices of these stakeholders out of narratives about the crisis has served to deepen distrust in the community. Our project responds to these silences through a community-driven research study aimed explicitly at elevating the frame of Flint residents in and around the Flint water crisis. This paper describes the coming together of the research team, the overall project design for each of the three research efforts, and lessons learned. The three sub-projects include: (1) a qualitative analysis of community sentiment provided during 17 recorded legislative, media, and community events, (2) an analysis of trust in the Flint community through nine focus groups across demographic groups (African American, Hispanic, seniors, and youth) of residents in Flint, and (3) an analysis of the role of the faith-based community in response to public health crises through two focus groups with faith based leaders from Flint involved with response efforts to the water crisis. Our study offers insight for understanding trust in crisis, which could be valuable to other communities and researchers seeking to address similar situations. The project offers community science as a model for considering community engagement in research as part of the process of resilience.

Keywords: community-based participatory research; environmental justice; knowledge production; team science; qualitative research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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