What does it take to do community science well? Our featured speaker Dr. Tabia Akintobi shares her perspective from the public health realm. Click to view the call recording.
The question isn’t how relationships advance science – it’s how science advances relationships.
Embrace the possibility that you don’t have to be there–earn trust by giving trust.
Governance is essential because how you work might be more important than any single thing you work on.
Dr. Akintobi provided these written answers to questions from the chat. Thank you to Dr. Akintobi, the Community Voices, and participants!
A: While environmental health is not my particular area, here are some citations that may be of interest:
1. Howarth MV, Eiser AR. (2023)
Environmentally Mediated Health Disparities
American Journal of Medicine
This paper provides a clear clinical and environmental overview of how geographically patterned exposures (air pollution, lead, pesticides, fracking‑related contaminants) drive racial and economic health disparities—very accessible for non‑public‑health scientists.
PubMed indexed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36966705/
2. Beard S, et al. (2024)
Racism as a public health issue in environmental health disparities and environmental justice
Environmental Health
This NIEHS‑led article explicitly frames environmental racism as a structural, spatial, and policy‑driven phenomenon—useful for connecting geoscience data to social determinants of exposure.
Open access; PubMed indexed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38202621/
3. Anderson LB, et al. (2026)
An environmental vulnerability index framework supporting targeted public health interventions at the census tract level
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology
Demonstrates how multi‑indicator environmental vulnerability indices (using spatial data) can identify high‑risk census tracts. This paper strongly aligns with GIS and geoscience skillsets.
PubMed indexed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39627841/
4. Lewis PG, et al. (2023)
Characterizing vulnerabilities to climate change across the United States
Environment International
Uses spatial modeling to assess climate‑related vulnerability, integrating socioeconomic and environmental stressors—highly relevant for geoscientists interested in climate justice.
PubMed indexed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36642039/
5. Deivanayagam TA, et al. (2023)
Envisioning environmental equity: climate change, health, and racial justice
The Lancet
A major synthesis paper linking geography, climate burden, and racialized health outcomes globally and locally. Includes spatial visualizations and structural pathways ideal for interdisciplinary discussion.
PubMed indexed; Open access: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37149372/
A: Community needs/priorities are vast as are their strengths. The welcome challenge is finding resources (not necessarily fiscal but could be linkages to other organizations) in response to them.
A: Community-engaged research has become more of the norm though many are not trained in it, expected to do or appreciate its value. Some integrate it because a funding opportunity requires it. Team science that integrates community-engaged research and community engagement experts (see slide) is essential such that those who appreciate, want to do it or are required to fiscal resource the community-engaged researchers AND community leaders/partners who can bring this lens and strength to research planning, implementation, evaluation and dissemination.
A: Collaborations have not been negatively affected because our relationships have transcended a single grant (see CBPR PowerPoint slides). We have spent intentional time adjusting our focus over the past year through integrating policy and advocacy training led by a community based organization on our coalition in response to the changing landscape (bringing funding for this to their organization). This has been responsive to a need, and a required pivot from our regularly scheduled research program. We have had nearly 100 participants over a year and a half where they receive a certification that they can include on their resumes and now have skills towards more effective engagement with policy makers.
A: A first step is to identify the existing community-based organizations in their priority communities to learn from in order to simply identify their local priorities (that may not necessarily be research) that they can learn from and then to potentially identify how their research can be aligned with them. This takes time and is ongoing (see slides on community engagement versus community engaged research). Ideally this work is not happening only in response to a funding opportunity.
We are making the necessary shift from “trust in science” to “how can science be trustworthy?”
