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ObjectivesWe 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.MethodsLongitudinal 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.ResultsThe 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).ConclusionThis 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.

BackgroundWe conducted a community-based participatory environmental health study in three towns: two in the heart of Marseille's industrial zone (Fos-sur-Mer and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône), and one on the periphery located about 30 km away (Saint-Martin-de-Crau).MethodsWe first conducted a cross-sectional survey of a random sample of residents in each of the three towns. We asked study participants to self-report a wide variety of health issues (Port-Saint-Louis: n = 272, Fos-sur-Mer: n = 543, Saint-Martin-de-Crau: n = 439). We then conducted focus groups with residents and other stakeholders to share preliminary data in order to propose areas of reflection and collaboratively produce contextually-situated knowledge of their health and environment. We directly standardized the prevalences (by age and gender) to the French metropolitan population to make our results more comparable.ResultsStudy participants who lived closer to the core industrial zone (residents of Fos-sur-Mer and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhone) had higher prevalences of eye irritation, nose and throat problems, chronic skin problems and headaches than people who lived further away (residents of Saint-Martin-de-Crau). Residents also offered diverse qualitative insights about their environment and health experiences.DiscussionWe observed elevated prevalences of diseases that affected residents across the industrial zone (Fos-sur-Mer and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône) compared to those living outside (Saint-Martin-de-Crau), and qualitative evidence of how residents made sense of their health experiences strengthening an understanding of their own empirical observations which helps to produce knowledge about health in an industrial context. The results of the workshops show an important benefit from the co-production of local knowledge.ConclusionWe encourage future researchers to do in-depth, community-based research to comprehensively describe the health of residents in other heavily polluted zones, product local knowledge and to help identify policy solutions, engender trust among the local people, and identify opportunities for intervention.

This article analyzes the qualitative data collected as part of a 2015 community-based participatory cross-sectional health study conducted in two towns in a heavily polluted industrial zone on the port of Marseille, France. In addition to quantitative measures of residents' health outcomes, the open-ended question about health experiences provide important depth and a lived dimension of the possible harms inflicted on, and endured by, the population. The qualitative responses (N = 497) give voice to the diversity of health experiences and struggles of people living in industrial areas. It reveals local tacit ways that people make sense of their health issues and hypothesize their conditions beyond epidemiological statistics. We argue that including qualitative questions in statistical environmental health studies captures important embodied knowledge as survey questions can never anticipate the variety of health issues experienced. Open-ended survey responses can point to new avenues of public health research given both the social vulnerabilities of the population and the environmental health complexities of dealing with a cocktail of pollutants in industrial areas.

Since online media can be key in the widespread, symmetrical dissemination of science, we performed a media content analysis of 44 online articles to assess coverage of a French community-based participatory research (CBPR) epidemiologic study. Most articles highlighted methodological rigor and the research topic’s salience to residents. Approximately half of the articles reported findings, with the remaining focusing on action steps. To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore how online media communicate CBPR, a novel approach in the French context, to the public. Though there were some gaps in the media’s portrayal, CBPR may facilitate online media uptake of findings. We provide recommendations for future research on this topic.

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.

Aim: Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an increasingly common approach in the USA, but still relatively rare in Europe. In the industrial zone of Marseille, there is a long history of pollution, but little is known about the health implications. This study documented the prevalence of different health issues in two heavily polluted towns in the industrial zone using a CBPR approach. Subject and methods: This study used a CBPR approach and epidemiologic methods to answer community members’ questions about the health of residents in Marseille’s industrial zone by randomly sampling a cross-section of residents to systematically document health issues in Fos-sur-Mer and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, two towns in the industrial port area of Marseille, France. Results: Many chronic illnesses were elevated in these communities, as compared to regional and national prevalences, including chronic skin problems, asthma, cancer, and diabetes. Chronic skin problems and asthma were among the most common chronic illnesses reported. A majority of respondents also reported acute symptoms that affected daily life, including eye irritation or nose and throat problems. Conclusion: There is likely an environmental explanation for why, even after direct standardization, the prevalences of many diseases were higher in these communities than elsewhere. The combination of CBPR and rigorous epidemiologic methods helps make our findings relevant to both community members and researchers.

Over the past year, procurement in the public sector has attracted increased attention as governments have fought COVID-19--first by trying to provide the vast array of equipment needed by the [...]