ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: We report on the challenges of obtaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) coverage for a community-based participatory research (CBPR) environmental justice project, which involved reporting biomonitoring and household exposure results to participants, and included lay participation in research. METHODS: We draw on our experiences guiding a multi-partner CBPR project through university and state Institutional Review Board reviews, and other CBPR colleagues' written accounts and conference presentations and discussions. We also interviewed academics involved in CBPR to learn of their challenges with Institutional Review Boards. RESULTS: We found that Institutional Review Boards are generally unfamiliar with CBPR, reluctant to oversee community partners, and resistant to ongoing researcher-participant interaction. Institutional Review Boards sometimes unintentionally violate the very principles of beneficence and justice which they are supposed to uphold. For example, some Institutional Review Boards refuse to allow report-back of individual data to participants, which contradicts the CBPR principles that guide a growing number of projects. This causes significant delays and may divert research and dissemination efforts. Our extensive education of our university Institutional Review Board convinced them to provide human subjects protection coverage for two community-based organizations in our partnership. CONCLUSIONS: IRBs and funders should develop clear, routine review guidelines that respect the unique qualities of CBPR, while researchers and community partners can educate IRB staff and board members about the objectives, ethical frameworks, and research methods of CBPR. These strategies can better protect research participants from the harm of unnecessary delays and exclusion from the research process, while facilitating the ethical communication of study results to participants and communities.
Subject(s)
Community-Based Participatory Research , Environmental Exposure/analysis , Ethics Committees, Research/organization & administration , California , Community-Based Participatory Research/organization & administration , Environmental Exposure/adverse effects , Humans , Information Dissemination , MassachusettsABSTRACT
In order to characterize typical indoor exposures to chemicals of interest for research on breast cancer and other hormonally mediated health outcomes, methods were developed to analyze air and dust for target compounds that have been identified as animal mammary carcinogens or hormonally active agents and that are used in commercial or consumer products or building materials. These methods were applied to a small number of residential and commercial environments to begin to characterize the extent of exposure to these classes of compounds. Phenolic compounds, including nonylphenol, octylphenol, bisphenol A, and the methoxychlor metabolite 2,2-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane (HPTE), were extracted, derivatized, and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS)-selective ion monitoring (SIM). Selected phthalates, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were extracted and analyzed by GC/MS-SIM. Residential and workplace samples showed detectable levels of twelve pesticides in dust and seven in air samples. Phthalates were abundant in dust (0.3-524 micrograms/g) and air (0.005-2.8 micrograms/m3). Nonylphenol and its mono- and di-ethoxylates were prevalent in dust (0.82-14 micrograms/g) along with estrogenic phenols such as bisphenol A and o-phenyl phenol. In this 7-sample pilot study, 33 of 86 target compounds were detected in dust, and 24 of 57 target compounds were detected in air. In a single sample from one home, 27 of the target compounds were detected in dust and 15 in air, providing an indication of chemical mixtures to which humans are typically exposed.
Subject(s)
Air Pollution, Indoor/analysis , Breast Neoplasms/chemically induced , Carcinogens/analysis , Environmental Exposure , Environmental Monitoring/methods , Mammary Neoplasms, Animal/chemically induced , Animals , Dust , Female , Gonadal Steroid Hormones/physiology , Housing , Humans , Industry , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
Geographic patterns and time trends for breast cancer suggest there are preventable causes that may include environmental factors. This article describes the development of new methods used in the Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study to investigate whether synthetic chemicals in the environment contribute to breast cancer risk.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/chemically induced , Breast Neoplasms/epidemiology , Environmental Pollution/adverse effects , Case-Control Studies , Estrogens/adverse effects , Female , Humans , Incidence , Massachusetts/epidemiology , Population Surveillance , Residence Characteristics , Risk Factors , Space-Time ClusteringABSTRACT
Appraisals of occupational health risks and coping alternatives were examined in a study of 670 steelworkers. Three forms of coping were considered: emotion focused, problem focused, and system oriented. Path analysis was used to test a model of coping as a function of primary appraisals of occupational exposures, secondary appraisals of coping options, reappraisal of health concerns, and background characteristics. Results show that each element in the proposed model contributes significantly to all three coping types. In addition, distinctive patterns of secondary appraisal were observed for each type of coping. Future use of the concept of system-oriented coping is suggested for investigating problems not easily solved by individual action.
