Sustaining a nurse-led community partnership to promote environmental justice.

The Westlawn Partnership for a Healthier Environment (WPHE) is a longstanding group of community stakeholders that was formed over a decade ago to identify, prioritize, and address environmental health (EH) concerns in a low-income, predominantly African American, urban neighborhood, which faces a disproportionate burden of EH risks, particularly asthma. Launched by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Nursing, which established a nurse-managed health center within the community 30 years ago, WPHE utilized the Protocol of Assessing Community Excellence in Environment Health methodology to develop, implement, and sustain the partnership. WPHE implemented programs for Healthy Homes, Healthy Day Cares, and bicycling, and made system and infrastructure changes within the community to address the top identified EH concerns: indoor and outdoor air pollution, mold exposure, access to safe and healthy food, and pesticide exposure.

Assessing Health Promotion Interventions: Limitations of Traditional Research Methods in Community-Based Studies.

Most low-income Americans fail to meet physical activity recommendations. Inactivity and poor diet contribute to obesity, a risk factor for multiple chronic diseases. Health promotion activities have the potential to improve health outcomes for low-income populations.