Mertens Frédéric, Távora Renata, Nakano Eduardo Yoshio, Castilhos Zuleica Carmen
Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health in Latin America and the Caribbean, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
PLoS One. 2017 Oct 9;12(10):e0186130. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186130. eCollection 2017.
The population of Paracatu is at risk of Arsenic (As) exposure associated with long-term exploration of the largest open pit gold mine in Brazil. As part of the interdisciplinary research "The Paracatu project: Arsenic environmental contamination and human health risks assessment in Paracatu-MG", carried out between 2011 and 2013, we used data disaggregated by gender to identify the sources of As-related information being accessed by inhabitants of Paracatu and to examine if access to these sources was correlated to awareness of As health effects and adoption of behaviors to reduce risk of As exposure. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were carried out with 460 participants (294 women and 166 men) to collect data on respondent's socio-demographic characteristics, use of mass media and social communication networks as sources of information on As issues, the trustworthiness of these information sources, awareness of As health effects, and adoption of behaviors to reduce As exposure. For both men and women, interpersonal communication was used and trusted more frequently than mass media to obtain information on As. Discussion of As issues occurred preferentially among individuals of the same gender and was associated with awareness of As health risks. There are marked differences in variables correlated with the adoption of behaviors to reduce the risk of As exposure between men and women. Discussing As issues with women was associated with adoption of risk-reduction practices for both genders. In contrast, men who discuss As issues with other men were less likely to adopt As exposure prevention behaviors. Finally, adoption was associated with awareness of As health effects for women, but this was not the case for men. Policy implications for decision makers, practitioners and researchers are discussed, based on concrete examples of how gender-specific approaches can effectively guide the formulation and implementation of health promotion campaigns and programs.
帕拉卡图的居民面临砷暴露风险，这与巴西最大露天金矿的长期开采有关。作为2011年至2013年间开展的跨学科研究“帕拉卡图项目：米纳斯吉拉斯州帕拉卡图的砷环境污染与人类健康风险评估”的一部分，我们使用按性别分类的数据来确定帕拉卡图居民获取与砷相关信息的来源，并研究获取这些信息的途径是否与对砷健康影响的认知以及采取降低砷暴露风险的行为相关。我们对460名参与者（294名女性和166名男性）进行了半结构化的面对面访谈，以收集有关受访者社会人口特征、将大众媒体和社交网络作为砷问题信息来源的使用情况、这些信息来源的可信度、对砷健康影响的认知以及采取降低砷暴露行为的数据。对于男性和女性而言，人际交流比大众媒体更常被用于获取砷相关信息，且更受信任。砷问题的讨论在同性个体之间更为常见，并且与对砷健康风险的认知相关。在与采取降低砷暴露风险行为相关的变量方面，男性和女性存在显著差异。与女性讨论砷问题与两性采取降低风险的做法相关。相比之下，与其他男性讨论砷问题的男性采取预防砷暴露行为的可能性较小。最后，采取相关行为与女性对砷健康影响的认知相关，但男性并非如此。基于性别特定方法如何有效指导健康促进活动和项目的制定与实施的具体实例，讨论了对决策者、从业者和研究人员的政策启示。
