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. 2017 Oct 22;14(10):1269.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph14101269.

Barriers and Facilitators to the Elimination of Asbestos Related Diseases-Stakeholders' Perspectives

Joanne Vincenten  1 , Frank George  2 , Marco Martuzzi  3 , Peter Schröder-Bäck  4   5 , Elizabet Paunovic  6
Affiliations

Barriers and Facilitators to the Elimination of Asbestos Related Diseases-Stakeholders' Perspectives

Joanne Vincenten et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Despite sound scientific knowledge and evidence that any exposure to asbestos fibers in all of its forms, are carcinogenic to humans, its presence, use and trade is still substantial, including in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. Banning the production and use of all forms of asbestos, as recommended by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and WHO, has been proven as the most efficient evidence-based strategy to eliminate Asbestos Related Diseases (ARDs). To effectively move elimination of ARDs forward, attaining a greater understanding of key stakeholders perspectives was identified as an important action. The WHO Regional Office for Europe, the European Centre for Environment and Health, undertook semi-structured interviews, and follow-up discussions with diverse representatives dealing professionally with asbestos. The interview questionnaire was developed based on the current ARDs WHO Report, the Evidence Implementation Model for Public Health and categories of the theory of diffusion. Data were attained on three main questions within the interview questionnaire: (1) Identifying barriers to implementation of WHO evidence-based asbestos recommendations; (2) Describing roles of key stakeholders; and, (3) Proposing possible solutions. The results demonstrated use of sound and convincing scientific evidence along with economic evidence and facilitators can be used to achieve evidence-based policy development, and comprehensive diverse actions.

Keywords: asbestos; barriers; evidence implementation; facilitators.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.

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