title: Tangible evidence, trust and power: public perceptions of community environmental health studies.
abstract: Communities with environmental health concerns in the USA frequently request studies from their local or state departments of public health. This paper presents findings from three focus groups conducted in communities north of Boston that have been the subject of two different environmental health studies. The focus groups were designed to elicit residents' perceptions of environmental health, and of the particular studies conducted in their communities. In all focus groups, participants had difficulty accepting the findings of health studies that contradicted their own experiences of environmental exposures and illness. Our results suggest that lay knowledge, informed in varying degrees by the experience of what we term "tangible evidence," creates a lens through which communities interpret a health study's findings. The differences in reliance on tangible evidence were related to participants' sense of trust in public officials, and the institutions responsible for conducting health studies. Participants from the wealthier, predominantly white communities discussed trust in study design and methodologies used. In contrast, participants from the lower-income, higher-minority communities assessed health studies with reference to their trust (or lack thereof) in study sponsors and public health institutions. Participants' experience of tangible evidence, trust or distrust in health agencies and research institutions, and a sense of relative community power, influence how they assess the findings of environmental health studies and may have implications for pubic health.
authors.affiliation: Boston University School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, 715 Albany St. T4W, Boston, MA 02118, USA. mls@bu.edu
authors.forename: Madeleine Kangsen
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Scammell
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Senier
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Darrah-Okike
authors.forename: Phil
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Santos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000392:Air Movements; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D036262:Empirical Research; D004782:Environmental Health / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D011210:Power Plants; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011635:Public Health Administration / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards*; D011639:Public Opinion; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000145:classification* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D012935:Social Justice; D035502:Trust; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D015386:Hazardous Substances