Applying a social–ecological framework to Yucheng: 40 years after exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and dibenzofurans

Abstract

Although many epidemiological studies have been conducted on Yucheng cohorts, this incident has rarely been examined from social–ecological perspectives. This study adopted a social–ecological model as a framework to provide a more complete description of Yucheng in order to understand its effects on affected individuals, communities, and society. At first, recent studies on Yucheng victim’s health effects  was updated. Long-term follow-up studies of Yucheng cohort have revealed the adverse health effects exerted on victims and their children. Subsequently, this study uses the disaster ecology model as a conceptual framework to review Yucheng. The movements of Yucheng victims and their supporters have constituted a primary actor for promoting the personal and legal rights of Yucheng victims. Finally, this study discusses how to improve future studies to effectively assist victims in their recovery from this incident.

Keywords:

• Community–based participatory research
• food poisoning
• human health
• polychlorinated biphenyls
• social–ecological model
• translational research

Acknowledgements

The author received no specific funding for this work.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.