Perspectives of peripartum people on opportunities for personal and collective action to reduce exposure to everyday chemicals: Focus groups to inform exposure report-back

Abstract

Participants in biomonitoring studies who receive personal exposure reports seek information to reduce exposures. Many chemical exposures are driven by systems-level policies rather than individual actions; therefore, change requires engagement in collective action. Participants' perceptions of collective action and use of report-back to support engagement remain unclear. We conducted virtual focus groups during summer 2020 in a diverse group of peripartum people from cohorts in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program (N = 18). We assessed baseline exposure and collective action experience, and report-back preferences. Participants were motivated to protect the health of their families and communities despite significant time and cognitive burdens. They requested time-conscious tactics and accessible information to enable action to reduce individual and collective exposures. Participant input informed the design of digital report-back in the cohorts. This study highlights opportunities to shift responsibility from individuals to policymakers to reduce chemical exposures at the systems level.

Keywords: Biomonitoring; Collective action; Digital health communications; Environmental chemicals; Environmental health; Environmental health literacy; Exposure reduction; Health literacy; Phenolic compounds; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers; Return of results; per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.