Papers by Cristina Larrea Killinger
Routledge eBooks, Dec 15, 2022
All the contents of this work, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons... more All the contents of this work, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Todo o conteúdo deste trabalho, exceto quando houver ressalva, é publicado sob a licença Creative Commons Atribição 4.0. Todo el contenido de esta obra, excepto donde se indique lo contrario, está bajo licencia de la licencia Creative Commons Reconocimento 4.0.
Arxiu d'etnografia de Catalunya, Dec 20, 2022
Arxiu d'etnografia de Catalunya, Feb 12, 2016
Cadernos De Saude Publica, Mar 1, 2013
This paper discusses the role of qualitative approaches in epidemiological studies, beginning wit... more This paper discusses the role of qualitative approaches in epidemiological studies, beginning with a general discussion of epidemiological and anthropological methods. It focuses on a case study of the health impact of an environmental intervention carried out in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil. Most of the precedent studies fields, based on primary date, use to devote little attention to the methodological and theorethical questions attached to long-term studies. Four specific aspects of this experience are highlighted: (a) drawing up epidemiological study; (b) construction of an observational instrument to measure hygiene habits; (c) an ethnographic study that was carried out before the epidemiological study; (d) observation of the effects of health intervention on health inequalities. Finally, the report details how the findings of qualitative and quantitative studies might be synthesized. It provides a critical overview of follow-up strategies, illustrated with proper examples whenever possible.
Cadernos De Saude Publica, Mar 1, 2013
This paper discusses the role of qualitative approaches in epidemiological studies, beginning wit... more This paper discusses the role of qualitative approaches in epidemiological studies, beginning with a general discussion of epidemiological and anthropological methods. It focuses on a case study of the health impact of an environmental intervention carried out in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil. Most of the precedent studies fields, based on primary date, use to devote little attention to the methodological and theorethical questions attached to long-term studies. Four specific aspects of this experience are highlighted: (a) drawing up epidemiological study; (b) construction of an observational instrument to measure hygiene habits; (c) an ethnographic study that was carried out before the epidemiological study; (d) observation of the effects of health intervention on health inequalities. Finally, the report details how the findings of qualitative and quantitative studies might be synthesized. It provides a critical overview of follow-up strategies, illustrated with proper examples whenever possible.
Revista Eletrônica de Gestão e Tecnologias Ambientais, Jun 26, 2015
Resumo O objetivo deste artigo é analisar, a partir de uma perspectiva antropológica e histórica,... more Resumo O objetivo deste artigo é analisar, a partir de uma perspectiva antropológica e histórica, as dinâmicas sociais desenvolvidas em uma pequena comunidade quilombola do Baixo Sul da Bahia, para resolver os problemas de acesso à água destinada ao consumo humano. Levando em conta uma pesquisa etnográfica de 15 meses, entre os anos 2006 e 2012, os resultados apresentados no artigo apontam para uma reflexão sobre o acesso à água como processo sociocultural e destacam elementos simbólicos, políticos e econômicos. Analisam-se o papel das relações familiares e comunitárias que estruturam a atividade de coleta, armazenamento e conservação da água, assim como os aspetos simbólicos e religiosos que fazem da água um elemento de coesão social. O estudo das dinâmicas familiares, comunitárias e associativas é fundamental para compreender que, mais do que um problema técnico, o acesso à água constitui uma questão social complexa atravessada por conflitos e tensões que os funcionários da área de saneamento básico precisam conhecer.
Interface, 2022
Professional socialization is a complex process that leads to the professional identity. While se... more Professional socialization is a complex process that leads to the professional identity. While several studies have focused on the professional identity of physicians and nurses, few studies analyzed this aspect among dieticians. Furthermore, those studies did not consider the influence of sociocultural norms. The aim of this study was to analyze the construction of the professional identity of Brazilian, French and Spanish dieticians. A qualitative methodology based on semi-structured interviews was set up. The construction of the professional identity of Brazilian, French and Spanish dieticians is characterized by the incorporation of skills, knowledge and roles. This process was marked by transformations, mainly related to food and body. Dieticians from the three nationalities shared similar professional values grounded in a medical-nutritional rationale. However, their professional identity also resulted from a continuous process of interaction with patients, peers and the socio-cultural environment.
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Mar 1, 2013
Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, Oct 24, 2018
Individuals today classify foods conditioned by the way the food industry manufactures products a... more Individuals today classify foods conditioned by the way the food industry manufactures products and their ignorance about that process. This lack of knowledge about how foods are produced increases negative perceptions about the industrial process and the chemical substances that are used. We want to find out how pregnant and breastfeeding women classify these substances based on these perceptions. In the discussion section, we compare their classifications to those of scientific experts. The data analyzed come from 4 ethnographies carried out in the Spanish regions of Catalonia and Andalusia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted; women filled in a food diary, and eating practices were observed. The qualitative data were transcribed and analyzed with the Atlas.ti program. This analysis allowed us to classify chemical substances based on 5 categories: A) the organoleptic characteristics they contribute to food; B) their level of impact on health C) the handling of products in the food production chain and in the domestic sphere; D) the interaction of these substances with the body, and E) perceptions about the “nastiness” of these substances. The conclusion is that women who are already mothers are more sensitive to chemical substances added to food. There is also concern about the massive use of sugar in foods, and in general, the informants consider all chemical additives to be harmful. They have doubts about the ways that biological agents are eliminated, but they know about the transmission of these substances to the fetus or breastfeeding baby.
Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics
Studies of food waste claim that its main causes are technological and logistical deficiencies in... more Studies of food waste claim that its main causes are technological and logistical deficiencies in the first stages of the agri-food chain. The present article discusses this statement using a specific case as a starting point: the production of fruit in Lleida (Catalonia, Spain). Since the 1980s, fruit production in this region has undergone a process of innovation and development. However, the agents who participate in the sector claim that the wasted volume of edible foodstuffs is greater than in previous times. This article argues that studies of food waste do not consider the power relations existing within the agri-food chain. When these relations are asymmetrical, technological innovation and logistics optimisation do not improve the efficiency of the system; rather, they help the hegemonic players to monopolise the commercial margin and transfer some of their running costs to the weaker agents. The ethnographic data for the study were obtained between 2017 and 2019 using qual...
Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
Conventional definitions of food loss and food waste consider that the phenomenon can be measured... more Conventional definitions of food loss and food waste consider that the phenomenon can be measured with mass or monetary units. However, the problem is that it is not easy to establish what a discarded foodstuff is. Furthermore, these definitions do not incorporate in their analyses the loss of productive resources. From political ecology and agroecology, other alternative definitions consider that the calculation should be done in terms of energy. This would allow us to include the loss of productive resources in the phenomenon. However, since the counting tools generated by the agrarian economy reduce any economic activity to mass or monetary units, these alternative definitions face a problem of quantification to a greater extent. Consequently, there is currently an open debate about what constitutes food loss; a debate that is not reaching any helpful outcome. In light of these limitations, a qualitative approach to the phenomenon can be more practical. Based on our analysis of food loss in the context of fruit production in Lleida (Catalonia, Spain) we argue that to understand the phenomenon it is more effective to analyse how food loss is produced rather than to try to quantify it.
Foods
The complex concept of food sustainability has become crucial in all spheres of life. Dietitians,... more The complex concept of food sustainability has become crucial in all spheres of life. Dietitians, food scientists, and technologists are in a unique position to promote sustainability in food systems. However, the perceptions of food sustainability among food science professionals and college students are under-researched, particularly in Spain. The aim of this study was therefore to analyze perceptions related to food and to food sustainability in a sample of Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HND) and Food Science and Technology (FST) students in Barcelona (Spain). An exploratory and descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using qualitative and quantitative methodology and convenience sampling. Two focus groups and an online questionnaire were conducted (300 participants completed the survey, 151 from HND and 149 from FST). Although the students expressed concern about food sustainability, their dietary choices were primarily associated with or influenced by taste/pleasure a...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
There is increasing concern regarding the potential implications of continuous dietary exposure t... more There is increasing concern regarding the potential implications of continuous dietary exposure to low doses of artificial chemical pollutants, particularly in critical life stages such as pregnancy and lactation. Within a wider social research, we analyzed the risk perception, discourses, and attitudes of health professionals regarding dietary exposure to artificial chemical contaminants. Data was collected by personal interviews on 35 health professionals from two Spanish regions. Although the participants’ discourses were strongly dominated by the nutritional composition and microbiological contamination, 34 expressed some concern regarding metals, and 23 regarding pesticides. Although only one participant mentioned a plasticizer (i.e., bisphenol A), we noted an underlying concern, since six professionals admitted to recommending pregnant women to somewhat avoid plastic food containers, and were aware of mother-to-child transmission and accumulation of artificial chemicals. The u...
Appetite, 2020
The perception that food affects our health has increased over the past fifty years in industrial... more The perception that food affects our health has increased over the past fifty years in industrialised Western countries. The notion of "healthy food" has become ubiquitous in medical, political, and media discourse as well as in the discourses of the lay population. This study seeks to understand the social representations of "healthy food" of Brazilian, Spanish and French dietitians and young laywomen. A qualitative and comparative methodology based on 131 individual semi-structured interviews was set up. According to the analysis of the discourses, the notion of "healthy food" is ambivalent and polysemic. Scientific-nutritional rationality is not the only way to think about "healthy food". Two main ways of categorising "healthy foods" are observed in the three countries. They are based on eating analysis criteria that referred to diverse value systems and different scientific, symbolic and moral rationalities: on the one hand, a physiological, nutritional and functional conception, and on the other, an "eco-ideological" conception that took into account production, culture and distribution methods. Though dietitians have a greater technical knowledge of nutrients and metabolic processes than laywomen, professionals and young laywomen, mainly within the same nationality, shared similar discourses concerning the notion of "healthy food", revealing patterns that differentiate each nationality. Taking together, the results reveal that although medical-nutritional discourses are disseminated internationally, discourses on "healthy food" are constructed taking into account social, cultural, symbolic and moral dimensions. These discourses are linked to a historical and sociocultural context.
Arxiu d'Etnografia de Catalunya, 2013
El projecte de recerca “Cossos tòxics: etnoepidemiologia sociocultural de la contaminació interna... more El projecte de recerca “Cossos tòxics: etnoepidemiologia sociocultural de la contaminació interna per compostos tòxics persistents (CTP) a Espanya” és una recerca en curs, de tipus interdisciplinari (amb antropòlegs, filòsofs i epidemiòlegs), adscrita al Departament d’Antropologia Social de la Universitat de Barcelona, i que disposa del suport i el finançament del Programa Nacional de Projectes de Recerca Fonamental del Ministeri de Ciència i Innovació (CSO 2010/18661). El grup de recerca està format per la investigadora principal, la Dra. Cristina Larrea (UB); el Dr. Jaume Mascaró (UB); el Dr. Miquel Porta (UAB-IMIM); la Dra. Eva Zafra (URV); el Dr. Joan Muela (Pass International Project); la doctoranda en antropologia social Araceli Muñoz (URV), i l’estudiant de màster Arantxa Begueria (UB). El principal objectiu és crear una línia de recerca etnoepidemiològica centrada en l’anàlisi dels discursos i les pràctiques socioculturals sobre l’experiència corporal de la contaminació huma...
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Salud colectiva
This article analyses the social perception of human exposure to chemical compounds and discourse... more This article analyses the social perception of human exposure to chemical compounds and discourses and practices regarding bodily boundaries when faced with internal contamination. Based on qualitative and interdisciplinary research carried out in Catalonia, the social meanings attributed to the environmental and food dangers and risks related to chemical compounds that affect human health, and the place that the body takes in the production of these discourses, were explored. In order to do so, between June and November 2011, 43 semi-structured interviews with workers with some awareness of chemical contaminants were carried out, emphasizing how these people (re)interpret the different existing discourses about internal contamination as well as their perceptions regarding the introduction of chemical compounds into the body and the dangers that these substances pose to health.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
In this article, we analyze how pregnant and breastfeeding women perceive the inside of their bod... more In this article, we analyze how pregnant and breastfeeding women perceive the inside of their bodies as well as their thoughts regarding the accumulation and elimination of chemical compounds present in food, and how these are then transmitted to the fetus. We explore different social perceptions of risk regarding the circulation of chemical compounds inside the body using qualitative research based on the technique of body mapping, comprised of women’s figures of their bodies in combination with comments on the figures, food diaries and narratives from in-depth interviews. We examine how these 41 women (21 pregnant and 20 breastfeeding) perceive the body’s internal mechanisms during the stages of pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as the circulation of chemical contaminants within it. The body mapping technique allowed us to analyze participants’ knowledge of internal pollution, a little-understood process in society. Thanks to these pregnant and breastfeeding women, who made an ...
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Papers by Cristina Larrea Killinger