title: Redesigning a Participatory Health Study for a French Industrial Context.
abstract: The Marseille, France, metropolitan area is home to a heavily concentrated industrial region directly adjacent to residential communities. These towns have been subjected to a wide variety of social science and public health studies, but residents continue to have many questions about health concerns for which they currently have primarily anecdotal evidence. Reflecting on our in-progress research in two of these towns, we argue that community-based participatory research that draws from both social science and public health science can be successfully adapted to the French political and cultural context and is key for developing environmental health research that is relevant for community residents and local leaders. Understanding and working within the customs of the local values and practices culture is critical for community-based participatory research regardless of location but is particularly paramount when working in non-United States contexts, since local values and practices will shape the particular techniques used within the community-based participatory research framework.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Science and Technology in Society, Virginia Tech University, Falls Church, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: 2 Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Alison K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: 3 Centre Norbert Elias, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Yolaine
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ferrier
authors.affiliation: 3 Centre Norbert Elias, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Marseille, France.|5 Laboratoire de Sciences Sociales Appliquées, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lees
authors.affiliation: 2 Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.|4 College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Travis
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Richards
keywords: France; community-based participatory research; environmental health; epidemiology; science and technology studies; sociology