Bananas, pesticides and health in southwestern Ecuador: A scalar narrative approach to targeting public health responses

Social Science & Medicine
Benjamin Brisbois

Abstract

Public health responses to agricultural pesticide exposure are often informed by ethnographic or other qualitative studies of pesticide risk perception. In addition to highlighting the importance of structural determinants of exposure, such studies can identify the specific scales at which pesticide-exposed individuals locate responsibility for their health issues, with implications for study and intervention design. In this study, an ethnographic approach was employed to map scalar features within explanatory narratives of pesticides and health in Ecuador's banana-producing El Oro province. Unstructured observation, 14 key informant interviews and 15 in-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out during 8 months of fieldwork in 2011-2013. Analysis of interview data was informed by human geographic literature on the social construction of scale. Individual-focused narratives of some participants highlighted characteristics such as carelessness and ignorance, leading to suggestions for educational interventions. More structural explanations invoked farm-scale processes, such as uncontrolled aerial fumigations on plantations owned by elites. Organization into cooperatives helped to protect small-scale farmers from 'deadly' ...Continue Reading

References

Sep 1, 1991·Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry·A Kleinman, J Kleinman
Jan 1, 1986·Drug and Chemical Toxicology·J GuilfordD Ghosh
Feb 19, 1999·Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health·C Poole, K J Rothman
Mar 10, 2004·Western Journal of Nursing Research·Mary K SalazarLinda A McCauley
Mar 19, 2004·Risk Analysis : an Official Publication of the Society for Risk Analysis·Terre A SatterfieldPaul Slovic
Sep 29, 2004·Osiris·Nicholas B King
Jan 4, 2008·American Journal of Public Health·Nancy Krieger
Oct 4, 2008·Ciência & saúde coletiva·Dominique Pareja BéhagueCesar Gomes Victora
Aug 5, 2009·International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health·Fadya A OrozcoDenis Arica
Nov 14, 2012·Social Work in Public Health·Jeffrey R MasudaJohn Eyles
Apr 25, 2013·Environmental Research·Adriana Ríos-GonzálezHéctor Javier Sánchez-Pérez

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Mar 21, 2019·Ciência & saúde coletiva·Nicolás Rodríguez González
Feb 28, 2020·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Hans-Peter HutterLisbeth Weitensfelder
Jan 31, 2021·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Hans-Peter HutterLisbeth Weitensfelder
Sep 22, 2018·The Science of the Total Environment·Arne DeknockPeter Goethals

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.