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Steve Wing, PhD, Rachel Avery Horton, PhD, Naeema Muhammad, Gary R. Grant, BA, Mansoureh Tajik, PhD and Kendall Thu, PhD

Steve Wing and Rachel Avery Horton are with the Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Naeema Muhammad and Gary R. Grant are with Concerned Citizens of Tillery, Tillery, NC. At the time of the study, Mansoureh Tajik was with the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Kendall Thu is with the Department of Anthropology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Steve Wing, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, CB 7435, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7435 (e-mail: steve_wing{at}unc.edu).

The environmental justice movement has stimulated community-driven research about the living and working conditions of people of color and low-income communities. We describe an epidemiological study designed to link research with community education and organizing for social justice. In eastern North Carolina, high-density industrial swine production occurs in communities of low-income people and people of color. We investigated relationships between the resulting pollution and the health and quality of life of the hog operations’ neighbors. A repeat-measures longitudinal design, community involvement in data collection, and integration of qualitative and quantitative research methods helped promote data quality while providing opportunities for community education and organizing. Research could affect policy through its findings and its mobilization of communities.