Design of risk communication strategies based on risk perception among farmers exposed to pesticides in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Abstract

Risk perceptions and work practices are strongly influenced by local cultural patterns and, therefore, must be taken into account when developing effective intervention strategies, including risk communication initiatives.

Pesticide consumption, central nervous system and cardiovascular congenital malformations in the South and Southeast region of Brazil

“…In urban environments, other risk factors of birth defects may prevail, including exposure to other environmental chemicals such as pesticides different than those used in field crops or rural activities. The relationship observed in the rural microregions is of particular concern taking into account that, although agricultural workers in the South and Southeast Region of Brazil might have a higher risk perception from pesticide exposure [31,32] compared to other regions, it has been shown that knowledge and awareness of pesticide risks do not always lead to safety practices among Brazilian farmers [33,34]. Moreover, lower pesticide risk perception has been shown among women in agricultural population in Brazil [20,34], which may lead to a higher pesticide exposure even during pregnancy.…”

Producción subjetiva sobre la exposición a agroquímicos. Revisión de la bibliografía científica

“…A total of 12 studies were undertaken in North America, all of which in the United States, while Europe, Asia, and Africa accounted for four, three, and one study, respectively. Study populations varied, but were predominantly actors directly involved in agricultural production at different scales and involving different production models: poor farmers 30 ; family farmer 31 ; farmers [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] ; indigenous communities 44,45 ; and farm workers, where studies investigated the subjective dimensions of exposure to agrochemicals 27,28,[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55] . It is interesting to note that the majority of studies involving the latter group were undertaken in North America and involved immigrant farm workers, principally Latin Americans 27,28,46,48,51,52,54,55 .…”

“…With respect to research approach, studies can be classified according to the type of research process used: qualitative, quantitative, or mixed 67 . Studies were primarily qualitative in nature estudios 28,[31][32][33][34][35][36]38,41,[47][48][49][50][51]55,56,60,[63][64][65][66] , followed by quantitative studies 27,30,37,39,40,[42][43][44][45][46]54,57,58 , with mixed methods research accounting for only a small proportion of the total number of studies 29,52,53,59,61,62 . An analysis of the selected articles by country and research approach shows that studies from core countries used predominantly quantitative approaches, while those from periphery countries tended to adopt qualitative research designs.…”

“…A number of articles falling within the area of risk perception 30,32,35,41,43,47,58,62,65,66 are based on empirical studies and do not present a theoretical conceptualization of the conceptual category they use. Notable studies in this respect include work conducted by the National School of Public Health at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Río de Janeiro, Brazil, where F. Peres and other academics have developed a specific line of research focusing on exposure to agrochemicals 32,35,36,47,50 . In the United States, a team headed by T. Arcury and S. Quandt at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina has developed a number of studies in this area that have served as a point of reference for other investigations 28,30,54,55,66 .…”

An educational intervention to improve knowledge about prevention against occupational asthma and allergies using targeted maximum likelihood estimation

“…This study was performed in a very well characterized population of young Bavarian farm apprentices. Extrapolation of results to other populations must be done cautiously, since risk perception, work practices, and other variables may vary according to strong local cultural patterns [54].…”