Social Determinants In Household Pesticide Exposure: Development Of A Conceptual Underlying Model Of Risk Perception In Argentinean Families

MARIA GABRIELA ROVEDATTI; MARTIN CRUZ; SILVANA FIGAR; NATALIA PEREIRO; ANALIA FERLONI; MARCELO WOLANSKY; PAULA KANDEL; SOLEDAD ARAGONE; FLAVIA VIDAL

NEW ORLEANS

Congreso; ANNUAL MEETING; 2016

SOCIETY OF TOXICOLOGY

This study aims to understand knowledge, attitude and behaviors on home pest control to develop a conceptual underlying model of household pesticide risk perception. A qualitative content analysis was applied on interviews to families having little children belonging to middle class from a metropolitan Hospital at Buenos Aires. Ten families were interviewed, taped and transcribed verbatim. Horizontal and vertical analyses were used to identify principal domains and divergence between the narratives of participant´ profiles. Seven families lived in apartment buildings; in 6 interviews both parents were present. Their average age was 34.5 (SD 3.57), and 12/20 (60.0% - CI95% 36.4-80.0) had high school education level or more, and 1.2 (SD 0.42) children. In this initial phase of the study we found a number of misbeliefs, attitudes and behaviors with recognized potential to influence pesticide exposure. Knowledge: Interviewees often failed to properly classify pests, pesticides, disinfectants and cleansing products. Attitude toward household pesticide exposure: Save a few exceptions, parents naturalized the monthly fumigation provided by pest control contractors serving the apartment community. Behaviors: Another common finding was a lack of safety standards during and after application of what parents considered acceptable products for home pest control. Use of pesticide products formulated with active ingredients phased out or not recommended for home pest control were also apparent. These results strongly suggest that in our society there is unawareness about the health risks posed to humans through exposure to pesticides, arguing for educative and regulatory actions to prevent pesticide toxicity in susceptible individuals, i.e. women at child-bearing age and little children. Knowledge categories appear the former to be addressed for effective behavioral change (work in progress). Actualmente (Abril 2016) estamos elaborando una encuesta que pretende cuantificar el peso relativo de cada dominio de determinantes de percepcion de riesgos y vulnerabilidad a la exposicion en el uso de plaguicidas. La encuesta se administrara parte por e-mail y parte via telefonica en una muestra de al menos 100 mujeres de la misma zona geografica, del mismo nivel socioeconomico, y con las mismas caracteristicas que la muestra de 17 familias entrevistada en la fase cualitativa.