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Cohen AK, Snyder RE. Community-Based Participatory Research for Epidemiology, Health Equity, and Community Goals: Insights From Brazil, France, and USA. COMMUNITY HEALTH EQUITY RESEARCH & POLICY 2024:2752535X241262857. [PMID: 38885632 DOI: 10.1177/2752535x241262857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Community-based participatory research coproduces knowledge by emphasizing bidirectional exchanges between participants, communities, and researchers. PURPOSE, RESEARCH DESIGN, AND STUDY SAMPLE We highlight three studies in historically marginalized communities on separate continents (Richmond, CA, USA; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Marseille industrial zone, France) to exemplify how community-based participatory research improves research, offers tangible community benefits, and values residents more than traditional research methods. DATA ANALYSIS We provide insights into the process of conducting meaningful community-based participatory epidemiologic research. RESULTS In each of these communities, community-based participatory research led to high-quality research that helped inform context-appropriate policies and programs to improve health and advance health equity in these communities. CONCLUSIONS We recommend that researchers consistently engage with community members during all phases of research so that they can engage more participants, more deeply in the research process, build local capacity, improve data collection and data quality, as well as increase our understanding of research findings to inform future applied research and practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison K Cohen
- Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Robert E Snyder
- School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
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Jeanjean M, Dron J, Allen BL, Gramaglia C, Austruy A, Lees J, Ferrier Y, Periot M, Dotson MP, Chamaret P, Cohen AK. Participatory environmental health research: A tool to explore the socio-exposome in a major european industrial zone. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 218:114865. [PMID: 36435495 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We show that participatory research approaches can be a useful tool across disciplines and data collection methods to explore the socio-exposome near one of the largest industrial harbors in Europe. We analyzed resident involvement in each project and their capacity to affect structural changes. METHODS Longitudinal participatory environmental monitoring studies on lichens, petunias, aquatic systems and groundwater were conducted under the program VOCE (Volunteers for the Citizens' Observation of the Environment), which mobilized nearly 100 volunteers to collect and report data. A community-based participatory health survey, Fos EPSEAL was also carried out during the same period. We describe citizens' involvement in each study following Davis and Ramirez-Andreotta's (2021) 'best practice' grid. We also use residents' insights to refine understanding of the socio-exposome. RESULTS The region is significantly impacted by industrial pollution and fenceline communities are disproportionately exposed. The community-based participatory health survey documented negative health outcomes among the residents, including a higher prevalence of chronic symptoms and diabetes (e.g., 11.9%) in the Fos-Berre Lagoon region than in other communities. This methodology shows the benefits of the co-production of knowledge in environmental health: not only does it enable epistemological transformations favorable to the vulnerable population, but it also triggered public action (i.e., media and public authorities' attention leading to official expertise reports, filing of collective complaints before the courts). CONCLUSION This body of multiple participatory research studies over time is a useful approach to better understand the socio-exposome and health issues in an industrial zone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Jeanjean
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour La Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, Fos-sur-Mer, 13270, France.
| | - Julien Dron
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour La Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, Fos-sur-Mer, 13270, France
| | - Barbara L Allen
- Department of Science, Technology and Society, Virginia Polytechnic & State University-National Capital Region, Falls Church, VA, USA
| | - Christelle Gramaglia
- UMR-GEAU INRAE, 361 Rue J.-F. Breton BP 5095 34196 Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
| | - Annabelle Austruy
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour La Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, Fos-sur-Mer, 13270, France
| | - Johanna Lees
- Centre Norbert Elias (UMR 85 62), La Vieille Charité, 2 Rue de La Charité, 13002, Marseille, France; Laboratoire de Sciences Sociales Appliquées, 17 Cr Franklin Roosevelt, 13001, Marseille, France
| | - Yolaine Ferrier
- Laboratoire de Sciences Sociales Appliquées, 17 Cr Franklin Roosevelt, 13001, Marseille, France
| | - Marine Periot
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour La Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, Fos-sur-Mer, 13270, France
| | - Miranda P Dotson
- Northeastern University, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, USA, 02115
| | - Philippe Chamaret
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour La Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, Fos-sur-Mer, 13270, France
| | - Alison K Cohen
- University of California San Francisco, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, 550 16th Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA, USA, 94158
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Jeanjean M, Goix S, Dron J, Periot M, Austruy A, Douib K, Persoons R, Etienne MP, Revenko G, Chamaret P. Influence of environmental and dietary exposures on metals accumulation among the residents of a major industrial harbour (Fos-sur-Mer, France). J Trace Elem Med Biol 2022; 73:127021. [PMID: 35753173 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2022.127021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We sought to determine whether the residents living closer to the core industrial zone (Fos-sur-Mer) had higher trace metals blood and urinary levels than residents who lived further away (Saint-Martin-de-Crau). MATERIALS AND METHODS As part of The INDEX study, we measured the following trace metals into blood and urine samples of 138 participants (80 in the core industrial zone and 58 in the reference area): Antimony, Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Cobalt, Mercury, Nickel, Lead and Vanadium. Participants were recruited using a stratified random sampling method and had to meet the following inclusion criteria: 30-65 years old, living in the area since at least 3 years, not working in the industrial sector, non-smoker. We used single-pollutant multivariate linear regression models, using substitution when censored data were under 15 % and Tobit models alternatively, adjusting for personal physiological, social, dietary, housing characteristics and leisure activities. We also measured these trace metals in samples of lichens (Xanthoria parietina) and atmospheric particles (PM2.5). RESULTS We showed higher lichen and air levels of several metals (Cd, Cr, Co, Ni and Pb) in the exposed area. Living close to the core industrial zone was significantly associated with an increase in blood levels of lead (adjusted geometric mean = 17.2 [15.8-18.7] vs 15.1 [13.7-16.7] µg.L-1, p < 0.05). We report significant increase of some metals urinary levels among residents of the industrial port zone, as the result of the use of the environment, itself contaminated by industrial activities: dietary history of self-consumption of vegetables (Cadmium), eggs and poultries (Vanadium). However, Vanadium levels were greater among self-consumers of poultry in the reference area and gardeners had circulatory levels of Lead greater than non-gardeners only in the reference area. Consumption of non-local sea-products increased the level of Cadmium. CONCLUSIONS These results brought interesting clues, in complement to national programs, regarding the exposure to trace metals of residents living in a major industrial harbor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Jeanjean
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour la Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, 13270 Fos-sur-Mer, France.
| | - Sylvaine Goix
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour la Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, 13270 Fos-sur-Mer, France
| | - Julien Dron
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour la Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, 13270 Fos-sur-Mer, France
| | - Marine Periot
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour la Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, 13270 Fos-sur-Mer, France
| | - Annabelle Austruy
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour la Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, 13270 Fos-sur-Mer, France
| | - Khaled Douib
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour la Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, 13270 Fos-sur-Mer, France
| | - Renaud Persoons
- University of Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, CHU Grenoble Alpes, TIMC, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Marie-Pierre Etienne
- University of Rennes, Agrocampus Ouest, CNRS, UMR 6625 IRMAR, F-35000 Rennes, France
| | - Gautier Revenko
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour la Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, 13270 Fos-sur-Mer, France
| | - Philippe Chamaret
- Institut Ecocitoyen pour la Connaissance des Pollutions - Centre de Vie La Fossette, RD 268, 13270 Fos-sur-Mer, France
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Allen BL, Lees J, Cohen AK, Jeanjean M. Collaborative Workshops for Community Meaning-Making and Data Analyses: How Focus Groups Strengthen Data by Enhancing Understanding and Promoting Use. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:ijerph16183352. [PMID: 31514327 PMCID: PMC6765948 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16183352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2019] [Revised: 08/28/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Community-based participatory research is a growing approach, but often includes higher levels of community engagement in the research design and data collection stages than in the data interpretation stage. Involving study participants in this stage could further knowledge justice, science that aligns with and supports social justice agendas. This article reports on two community-based participatory environmental health surveys conducted between 2015 and 2019 in an industrial region near Marseille, France, and focuses specifically on our approach of organizing focus groups to directly involve residents and community stakeholders in the analysis and interpretation process. We found that, in these focus groups, residents triangulated across many different sources of information-study findings, local knowledge, and different types of expert knowledge-to reach conclusions about the health of their community and make recommendations for what should be done to improve community health outcomes. We conclude that involving residents in the data analysis and interpretation stage can promote epistemic justice and lead to final reports that are more useful to community stakeholders and decision-makers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara L Allen
- Department of Science, Technology and Society, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 22043, USA.
| | - Johanna Lees
- Centre Norbert Elias (UMR 85 62), Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales, 13236 Marseille, France.
| | - Alison K Cohen
- Department of Public and Nonprofit Administration, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA.
| | - Maxime Jeanjean
- Centre Norbert Elias (UMR 85 62), Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales, 13236 Marseille, France.
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Allen BL. Strongly Participatory Science and Knowledge Justice in an Environmentally Contested Region. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & HUMAN VALUES 2018; 43:947-971. [PMID: 30369681 PMCID: PMC6180482 DOI: 10.1177/0162243918758380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
This article draws insights from a case study examining unanswered health questions of residents in two polluted towns in an industrial region in southern France. A participatory health study, as conducted by the author, is presented as a way to address undone science by providing the residents with relevant data supporting their illness claims. Local residents were included in the health survey process, from the formulation of the questions to the final data analysis. Through this strongly participatory science (SPS) process, the townspeople offered many creative ideas in the final report for how the data could be used to assist in improving their health and environment and policy work is already in evidence, resulting from the study. Drawing from the literature on participatory science and expertise as well as from the initial outcomes of the local health study, I propose that SPS produces a form of knowledge justice. Understanding knowledge and its making as part of a social justice agenda aligns well with environmental justice frames. Through SPS, local residents have a hermeneutical resource to make sense of their embodied lives and augment their claims with strong data supporting actions for improving their health and environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara L. Allen
- Virginia Tech University, Washington, DC, USA
- Barbara L. Allen, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, Virginia Tech University, 7054 Haycock Road, Falls Church, VA 22043, USA.
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Cohen AK, Richards T, Allen BL, Ferrier Y, Lees J, Smith LH. Health issues in the industrial port zone of Marseille, France: the Fos EPSEAL community-based cross-sectional survey. J Public Health (Oxf) 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10389-017-0857-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
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