title: The Perceived Consequences of Gold Mining in Postwar El Salvador: A Qualitative Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated themes related to the health and environmental impacts of gold mining in El Salvador.
  
  
  METHODS
  Over a 1-month period in 2013, we conducted focus groups (n = 32 participants in total) and individual semistructured interviews (n = 11) with community leaders until we achieved thematic saturation. Data collection took place in 4 departments throughout the country. We used a combination of criterion-purposive and snowballing sampling techniques to identify participants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multiple themes emerged: (1) the fallacy of economic development; (2) critique of mining activities; (3) the creation of mining-related violence, with parallels to El Salvador's civil war; and (4) solutions and alternatives to mining activity. Solutions involved the creation of cooperative microenterprises for sustainable economic growth, political empowerment within communities, and development of local participatory democracies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gold mining in El Salvador is perceived as a significant environmental and public health threat. Local solutions may be applicable broadly.
authors.affiliation: Tanya L. Zakrison and Evan Valle are with the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL. Julie Kornfeld is with the Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. Pedro Cabezas is with the Association for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES), San Salvador, El Salvador. Carles Muntaner is with the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Sophie Soklaridis is with CAMH Education, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Tanya L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Zakrison
authors.affiliation: Tanya L. Zakrison and Evan Valle are with the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL. Julie Kornfeld is with the Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. Pedro Cabezas is with the Association for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES), San Salvador, El Salvador. Carles Muntaner is with the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Sophie Soklaridis is with CAMH Education, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cabezas
authors.affiliation: Tanya L. Zakrison and Evan Valle are with the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL. Julie Kornfeld is with the Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. Pedro Cabezas is with the Association for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES), San Salvador, El Salvador. Carles Muntaner is with the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Sophie Soklaridis is with CAMH Education, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Valle
authors.affiliation: Tanya L. Zakrison and Evan Valle are with the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL. Julie Kornfeld is with the Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. Pedro Cabezas is with the Association for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES), San Salvador, El Salvador. Carles Muntaner is with the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Sophie Soklaridis is with CAMH Education, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kornfeld
authors.affiliation: Tanya L. Zakrison and Evan Valle are with the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL. Julie Kornfeld is with the Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. Pedro Cabezas is with the Association for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES), San Salvador, El Salvador. Carles Muntaner is with the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Sophie Soklaridis is with CAMH Education, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Carles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muntaner
authors.affiliation: Tanya L. Zakrison and Evan Valle are with the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL. Julie Kornfeld is with the Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. Pedro Cabezas is with the Association for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES), San Salvador, El Salvador. Carles Muntaner is with the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Sophie Soklaridis is with CAMH Education, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soklaridis
mesh_terms: D057217:Economic Development; D004544:El Salvador; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006046:Gold; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008906:Mining / Q000458:organization & administration*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D006046:Gold