A case study of community involvement influence on policy decisions: Victories of a community-based participatory research partnership

The Buffalo Lupus Project was a community-university partnership that investigated associations between exposure to a local waste site and high rates of lupus and other autoimmune diseases. The partnership’s major accomplishment was successful advocacy for containment and clean-up of the site. As a result of community education, the remediation plan suggested by the community was adopted. Additionally, when a local childhood lead poisoning testing program was canceled, community members signed a letter to legislators urging them to replace the funding, which was restored within one week. This demonstrated how coordinated community-based capacity-building efforts can influence health policy.