1. Perspectives of peripartum people on opportunities for personal and collective action to reduce exposure to everyday chemicals: Focus groups to inform exposure report-back.
- Author
-
Oksas, Catherine, Brody, Julia Green, Brown, Phil, Boronow, Katherine E., DeMicco, Erin, Charlesworth, Annemarie, Juarez, Maribel, Geiger, Sarah, Schantz, Susan L., Woodruff, Tracey J., Morello-Frosch, Rachel, and Padula, Amy M.
- Subjects
- *
COLLECTIVE action , *ENVIRONMENTAL literacy , *FOCUS groups , *ENVIRONMENTAL health , *FLUOROALKYL compounds , *BACK - Abstract
Participants in biomonitoring studies who receive personal exposure reports seek information to reduce exposures. Many chemical exposures are driven by systems-level policies rather than individual actions; therefore, change requires engagement in collective action. Participants' perceptions of collective action and use of report-back to support engagement remain unclear. We conducted virtual focus groups during summer 2020 in a diverse group of peripartum people from cohorts in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program (N = 18). We assessed baseline exposure and collective action experience, and report-back preferences. Participants were motivated to protect the health of their families and communities despite significant time and cognitive burdens. They requested time-conscious tactics and accessible information to enable action to reduce individual and collective exposures. Participant input informed the design of digital report-back in the cohorts. This study highlights opportunities to shift responsibility from individuals to policymakers to reduce chemical exposures at the systems level. • Participants were knowledgeable and motivated to act to protect the health of their families and communities despite significant time and cognitive burdens. •Report-back can provide opportunities to improve environmental health literacy and can be tailored to the needs of the participants. •Researchers have a responsibility to translate research findings into impacts on individual policy to reduce chemical exposures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF