Les signalements profanes de clusters de cancers : épidémiologie populaire et expertise en santé environnementale

Résumé En Fr Es

Lay reports of cancers clusters : popular epidemiology and expertise in environmental health Lay reports of cancers clusters combine the perception of an abnormal frequency of cancerous pathologies by a population, the incrimination of industrial facilities in these pathologies, and the report to health authorities for scientific investigations and control of health risks. Generally, the existence of a cluster is not validated by epidemiological investigation. The population is therefore led to develop its own knowledge of the health problem through a process that, following Phil Brown, we qualify as popular epidemiology. The article utilizes the ethnographic study of three reports of clusters in France (Saint-Cyr-l’École, Vincennes, Nivillac) to analyze this popular epidemiology, its claims to expertise, and its social and cultural foundations.

Lay reports of cancers clusters : popular epidemiology and expertise in environmental health Lay reports of cancers clusters combine the perception of an abnormal frequency of cancerous pathologies by a population, the incrimination of industrial facilities in these pathologies, and the report to health authorities for scientific investigations and control of health risks. Generally, the existence of a cluster is not validated by epidemiological investigation. The population is therefore led to develop its own knowledge of the health problem through a process that, following Phil Brown, we qualify as popular epidemiology. The article utilizes the ethnographic study of three reports of clusters in France (Saint-Cyr-l’École, Vincennes, Nivillac) to analyze this popular epidemiology, its claims to expertise, and its social and cultural foundations.

Conglomerados de cáncer reseñados por no expertos : epidemiología popular y peritaje en salud medioambiental Los casos de conglomerados de cáncer reseñados por no expertos combinan varios aspectos : la percepción de una frecuencia poco habitual de patologías de tipo canceroso dentro de una población específica, la incriminación de instalaciones industriales en dichas patologías, y la indicación hecha a las autoridades de salud, con el fin de que se lleven a cabo estudios científicos y acciones de control de riesgo para la salud. Habitualmente, sin embargo, la investigación epidemiológica no considera válida la percepción de un conglomerado. En tales casos, la población debe desarrollar su propio conocimiento acerca del problema, a través de un método que ha sido calificado como «epidemiología popular » (Phil Brown). El presente artículo se apoya en la etnografía para analizar la epidemiología popular, sus reivindicaciones en el peritaje, y su anclaje social y cultural, en tres casos de reseña de conglomerados en Francia (Saint-Cyr-l’École, Vincennes, Nivillac).