Health and social concerns about living in three communities affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): A qualitative study in Australia
BACKGROUND: Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a public health issue globally. In Australia high concentrations of PFAS have been found in environments close to sites where Aqueous Film Forming Foams (AFFF) were historically used for firefighting activities. This has resulted...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:7808650 2023-05-15T16:16:00+02:00 Health and social concerns about living in three communities affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): A qualitative study in Australia Banwell, Cathy Housen, Tambri Smurthwaite, Kayla Trevenar, Susan Walker, Liz Todd, Katherine Rosas, May Kirk, Martyn 2021-01-14 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7808650/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33444329 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245141 en eng Public Library of Science http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7808650/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33444329 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245141 © 2021 Banwell et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. CC-BY PLoS One Research Article Text 2021 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245141 2021-02-07T01:33:52Z BACKGROUND: Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a public health issue globally. In Australia high concentrations of PFAS have been found in environments close to sites where Aqueous Film Forming Foams (AFFF) were historically used for firefighting activities. This has resulted in significant community concern about the potential long-term health effects of these chemicals. OBJECTIVE: We describe residents’ perceptions and experiences of PFAS in three regional Australian towns where exposure has occurred. METHODS: We conducted focus groups to generate free-flowing open discussion on PFAS in three affected communities, including some with significant numbers of First Nations Peoples. We recruited participants using a range of media outlets and postal services. Focus group transcripts were analysed thematically to identify major shared concerns using Atlas Ti. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty residents attended fifteen focus groups that were conducted in the three communities. They included 69 First Nations People living in three communities near the town of Katherine in the Northern Territory. Study participants were concerned about potential physical health effects of exposure to PFAS, such as cancer clusters, unexplained deaths, potential exacerbation of existing health conditions, and the future health of their children. They expressed feelings of stress and anxiety about living with uncertainty related to the possible health and the socio-economic impacts of PFAS contamination in their communities. CONCLUSION: While research has concentrated on the physical health effects of PFAS, more attention needs to be given to the immediate psychosocial impacts of living in an affected community. Text First Nations PubMed Central (PMC) PLOS ONE 16 1 e0245141 |
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Research Article Banwell, Cathy Housen, Tambri Smurthwaite, Kayla Trevenar, Susan Walker, Liz Todd, Katherine Rosas, May Kirk, Martyn Health and social concerns about living in three communities affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): A qualitative study in Australia |
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Research Article |
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BACKGROUND: Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a public health issue globally. In Australia high concentrations of PFAS have been found in environments close to sites where Aqueous Film Forming Foams (AFFF) were historically used for firefighting activities. This has resulted in significant community concern about the potential long-term health effects of these chemicals. OBJECTIVE: We describe residents’ perceptions and experiences of PFAS in three regional Australian towns where exposure has occurred. METHODS: We conducted focus groups to generate free-flowing open discussion on PFAS in three affected communities, including some with significant numbers of First Nations Peoples. We recruited participants using a range of media outlets and postal services. Focus group transcripts were analysed thematically to identify major shared concerns using Atlas Ti. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty residents attended fifteen focus groups that were conducted in the three communities. They included 69 First Nations People living in three communities near the town of Katherine in the Northern Territory. Study participants were concerned about potential physical health effects of exposure to PFAS, such as cancer clusters, unexplained deaths, potential exacerbation of existing health conditions, and the future health of their children. They expressed feelings of stress and anxiety about living with uncertainty related to the possible health and the socio-economic impacts of PFAS contamination in their communities. CONCLUSION: While research has concentrated on the physical health effects of PFAS, more attention needs to be given to the immediate psychosocial impacts of living in an affected community. |
format |
Text |
author |
Banwell, Cathy Housen, Tambri Smurthwaite, Kayla Trevenar, Susan Walker, Liz Todd, Katherine Rosas, May Kirk, Martyn |
author_facet |
Banwell, Cathy Housen, Tambri Smurthwaite, Kayla Trevenar, Susan Walker, Liz Todd, Katherine Rosas, May Kirk, Martyn |
author_sort |
Banwell, Cathy |
title |
Health and social concerns about living in three communities affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): A qualitative study in Australia |
title_short |
Health and social concerns about living in three communities affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): A qualitative study in Australia |
title_full |
Health and social concerns about living in three communities affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): A qualitative study in Australia |
title_fullStr |
Health and social concerns about living in three communities affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): A qualitative study in Australia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Health and social concerns about living in three communities affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): A qualitative study in Australia |
title_sort |
health and social concerns about living in three communities affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (pfas): a qualitative study in australia |
publisher |
Public Library of Science |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7808650/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33444329 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245141 |
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First Nations |
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First Nations |
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PLoS One |
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7808650/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33444329 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245141 |
op_rights |
© 2021 Banwell et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
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CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245141 |
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PLOS ONE |
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16 |
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1 |
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e0245141 |
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