French Volunteers Research Articles

Factors, motivations and barriers associated with eagerness to volunteer in COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials in France: A mixed-method study

IntroductionDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an unprecedented effort to engage people in clinical vaccine research. Most of the French volunteers registered in the first weeks after the launch in October 2020 of COVIREIVAC, an electronic platform dedicated to COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials (VCT). In the context of pandemic preparedness, identifying factors associated with eagerness or hesitancy to participate in VCT may help to increase recruitment of volunteers from diverse backgrounds. MethodsWe used a mixed-method survey offered to the volunteers registered on the COVIREIVAC platform, and semi-directed interviews in participants to COVID-19 VCTs. Volunteers were divided into three categories: early volunteers (EV), registered before the launch of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, middle volunteers (MV) registered between the first of January 2021 and the generalization of the COVID-19 vaccination to the entire population in May 2021, and late volunteers (LV) registered afterward. ResultsAmong the 56,101 COVIREIVAC registered volunteers, 2,741 (4.9 %) completed the survey, 1,915 (69.6%) were EV, 301 (11.0%) were MV and 525 (19.2 %) were LV. Sixteen were face-to-face interviewed. Age, educational level, attitudes toward vaccination evaluated with the 5C-model did not differ between EV and MV. Women gender and the possibility to choose the vaccine platform was associated with being a MV. LV were significantly younger, had a lower educational level and had less positive attitudes toward vaccines than EV and MV. The main motivations for participation in VCTs were altruistic notably in EV and MV. For LV, they registered in the hope to choice the vaccine technology. Among the respondents, 2,041 (74.5 %) would consider to participate in a non-COVID-19 VCT. ConclusionLV on the COVIREIVAC platform had a distinct profile from EV and MV, and were less confident in vaccines. Restoring confidence in vaccines and clinical may help to engage more diverse populations in VCTs.

French Volunteers in Benjamin Franklin's Correspondence: The American Revolution as Mirror of a Military Crisis

Abstract: The French who took part in the American War for Independence have been the subject of many historical studies. However, the correspondence of Benjamin Franklin offers new elements about these numerous volunteers coming from multiple geographical and social backgrounds. In their letters to the American commissioner, military men, nobles, ecclesiastics, surgeons, lawyers, engineers, peasants, and even convicts—most of whom never left the France—explained their motives for crossing the Atlantic Ocean to fight the British army on the side of the Patriots. From that epistolary source emerges also the perception those subjects of Louis XVI had of the Americans and the United States. All this information reveals a French society imbued with many contradictions, such as the public attraction for enemies fought during the Seven Years' War and the glorification of ancestral nobiliary values through a war for the benefit of a young republic.

Восстание в Верхней Савойе в мае 1793 года

In May 1793, a major popular uprising took place in Haute-Savoie, in the Ton Valley, which had important consequences for the region. At the time of recruitment into the army of the republic, residents of 13 communes of the valley near the city of Annecy entered into an armed confrontation with units of the French army and volunteers of the National Guard. The main slogans of the rebels were the abolition of the civil constitution of the clergy and conscription. The bulk of the rebels were peasants and artisans. The representative of the National Convention M.-J. Herault de Sechelles played a significant role in suppressing the uprising. Herault de Sechelles and the procureur-syndic of the district Annecy J.-C. Burnod. Marguerite Frischelet-Avet stood out especially among the leaders of the uprising. During the suppression of the uprising, the Republicans acted with extreme brutality and without observing any legal procedures. The uprising ended in defeat, but general political and social instability persisted in the Mont-Blanc department during 1793-1794.

Perceived risk of opioid use disorder secondary to opioid analgesic medication use by the general population in France.

In Europe and France, the use of opioid analgesic drugs has become widespread as an option for pain management. However, their use can lead to nonmedical use and/or opioid use disorder (OUD). This work aimed to assess the perceived risk of OUD secondary to opioid analgesic drugs use by the general population. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study using the GrippeNet web-based cohort, comprising about 10,000 French volunteers from the general population, using a self-administered questionnaire. The main outcome was the perceived risk of OUD secondary to opioid analgesic drugs use, assessed by a 4-item scale and modelled using logistic regression (backward procedure). Among 5046 French respondents, after adjustment, 65% believed that the use of analgesic drugs could likely or very likely lead to OUD. Factors associated with the perception of a higher risk were being over 50 and having heard about opioids in the media. Previous opioid use and a high level of education decreased the perception of the risk. Among those having used opioids in the past 2years (N=1770), 71.1% reported being not at all concerned by this risk. The majority of the sample perceived the risk of OUD but those having already used opioid analgesics drugs expressed no concern about this risk for themselves. This finding highlight the need to reinforce warning on the package insert documents, therapeutic education and collaborative care between the prescribing general practitioners and pharmacists to increase awareness of opioid medications users on the risk of OUD. This study found that the risk of OUD secondary to opioid analgesics use is well perceived in the general population, but that those having already used opioid analgesics expressed little concern for themselves. This finding could potentially help to raise awareness of healthcare providers and policy makers on the lack of perceived risk regarding these drugs and the need to inform and identify at-risk patients in primary care.

Fear and loathing on the Eastern Front: Soviet forests and the memory of Western Europeans in the German military forces, 1941-1944

Combatant perceptions of the landscape in which soldiers fight constitute a central element of their memory, especially in the frame of military invasions and occupations. This article addresses the war experience of the Spanish, French, and Walloon volunteers who enlisted in the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS. Their views of the Eastern Front were heavily influenced by the close, dense forests that covered much of Eastern Europe. Fear of autochthonous nature was fed by a very specific image of Soviet civilians and soldiers, which ended up conditioning the modus operandi on the front lines and in the rearguard.

Randomized study of antiseptic application technique in healthy volunteers before vascular access insertion (TApAS trial)

In France about 32% of hospitalized patients have a vascular access placement. However, a common complication associated with these is catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBI) due to the introduction of microorganisms from the skin during catheter insertion. There is no consensus on the best way to clean the skin prior to catheter insertion, which could be a key element of CRBI prevention. The two techniques most commonly used to apply antiseptic to the skin are the concentric circle and back-and-forth techniques, but these have not been compared in clinical trials. Hence, this study conducted this comparison. This single-center, non-comparative, randomized, matched pilot study investigated the levels of cutaneous microorganisms before and after antiseptic application using both techniques in a population of healthy French volunteers. The two application methods were used on each participant's arms at the elbow fold, with randomization for the application side (right or left). Quantification of cutaneous microorganisms was performed in a blinded manner with regard to the technique used. From April 8 to July 17, 2019, 132 healthy volunteers participated in the study. For the whole study population, the mean initial colonization level was 2.68 log10 colony forming units (CFU)/mL (SD 0.82) before the back-and-forth technique, and 2.66 log10 CFU/mL (SD 0.85) before the concentric circle technique. The mean differences in number of microorganisms between the initial sample and the final sample were 2.45 log10 CFU/mL (95% CI: 2.29 to 2.61) for the back-and-forth technique and 2.43 log10 CFU/mL (95% CI: 2.27 to 2.59) for the concentric circle technique. The mean difference in reduction in microorganisms between the back-and-forth technique and the concentric circle technique was 0.02 log10 CFU/mL (95% CI: -0.11 to 0.15). There was no clinically difference in reduction of microorganisms between the concentric circle and back-and-forth techniques at the bend of the healthy volunteer's elbow, after the 30s of drying of the antiseptic. These findings have a significant impact on time required to achieve antiseptic application before catheter insertion because there is yet no argument to justify application for 30 s, because a single concentric circle pass was much faster with similar results. Future studies should investigate the impact of skin application technique on the prevention of infectious risk associated with catheter insertion on admission to health care facilities (conventional, outpatient, or emergency) and throughout the period of stay in a health care facility.

Prospective associations between sustainable dietary pattern assessed with the Sustainable Diet Index (SDI) and risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases in the French NutriNet-Santé cohort.

To ensure a sustainable development, it is essential to better characterize the relationships between diet sustainability and health. We investigated the associations between sustainable dietary patterns, assessed using the Sustainable Diet Index (SDI) and the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases in a large prospective cohort of French volunteers. We computed the SDI among 25,592 participants of the NutriNet-Santé cohort using a database developed within the BioNutriNet project comprising nutritional, behavioral, environmental and economic data. Health status of each participant was collected from 2014 to 2018 and validated by physicians. Associations between the SDI and risk of chronic diseases (cancer and cardiovascular diseases) were assessed using multivariable Cox models. 640 incident chronic diseases occurred during the 3.8-year follow-up (483 cancer cases and 158 cardiovascular disease cases). A higher SDI was associated with a lower risk of overall chronic diseases after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Participants in the fourth quartile, reflecting the highest sustainable dietary patterns, exhibited a significant decrease in risk of cancers or cardiovascular diseases (HRQ4 vs. Q1 = 0.61 (95% CI 0.47-0.80), P-trend = 0.0002). More specifically, this association was observed for cancers in the fully adjusted model but was not statistically significant for cardiovascular diseases. Although these results need to be confirmed by other observational studies, they support the fact that a wide adoption of sustainable dietary patterns may contribute to improving global health in France and argue for existing dietary patterns exhibiting cobenefits for human health and the environment.

Parabacteroides pacaensis sp. nov. and Parabacteroides provencensis sp. nov., two new species identified from human gut microbiota.

Strains Marseille-P4001 and Marseille-P3668 are new species from the order Bacteroidales isolated from healthy French volunteers. They are anaerobic Gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria. They exhibited 92.68% and 96.68% 16S rRNA sequence identities with Parabacteroides gordonii strain MS-1 and Parabacteroides chinchillae JCM 17104, respectively, the phylogenetically closest species. Their respective draft genomes measured 5.23 Mb and 3.73 Mb with 39.2 mol% and 40.8 mol% of G + C content. Using a taxonogenomics method, we propose here a brief description of Parabacteroides pacaensis sp. nov., strain Marseille-P4001T and Parabacteroides provencensis sp. nov., strain Marseille-P3668T as new bacterial species.

Las milicias de voluntarios franceses en el Río de la Plata. Tradiciones bélicas, politización y diplomacia informal en tiempos de crisis (1829-1851)

The article analyzes the role played in the Rio de la Plata by the militias of foreign residents between 1829 and 1851, stopping especially in the bodies of French volunteers. I argue that these militia and legions in port cities such as Buenos Aires and Montevideo generated a transnational space, where different legal traditions and political cultures were combined, which allowed resident foreigners to exercise an “overseas citizenship”. This militia experience not only made possible the self-defense of foreigners, but also became a politico-diplomatic channel of representation of their interests, in competition with the official French agents.

The association between physical and mental chronic conditions and napping

The objectives of this study were to assess the associations among various physical and mental chronic conditions and napping. A cross-sectional epidemiological survey was proposed within the NutriNet-Santé population-based e-cohort launched in France in 2009. Participants were 43,060 French volunteers aged 18 y and over with Internet access. A self-report questionnaire assessing sleep characteristics was administered in 2014. The main outcome (dependent) variable was weekday or weekend napping (yes/no). The main exposure (independent) variables were overweight/obesity, hypertension, diabetes, anxiety and depressive disorders, incident major cardiovascular diseases (myocardial infarction, stroke, unstable angina), and incident cancer (breast and prostate). The associations of interest were investigated with multivariable logistic regression analysis. No significant associations were found between major cardiovascular diseases or breast or prostate cancer and napping. Instead, we found that napping was more common among males (46.1%) than among females 36.9% (p < 0.0001). Individuals who were overweight or obese or had hypertension, diabetes, depression or anxiety disorders had an increased likelihood of napping compared with their healthy peers. The adjusted ORs ranged from 1.14 to 1.28″. In conclusion, most chronic conditions were independently associated with napping. Future longitudinal analyses are needed to elucidate causality.

Aggregate exposure to common fragrance compounds: Comparison of the contribution of essential oils and cosmetics using probabilistic methods and the example of limonene

The knowledge of aggregate exposure to different types of products is paramount in the risk assessment.The aim of this study was to compare the relative contribution of essential oils compared to cosmetics on the daily dermal exposure to limonene, an ubiquitous fragrance compound that can be an allergen depending on its degree of oxidation.Aggregate daily exposure to limonene was calculated among a panel of French volunteers using both essential oils and cosmetics, for 4 different specific zones, i.e. face and neck, chest, upper limbs and lower limbs. Calculations were made using a probabilistic Monte Carlo method and sensitivity analysis.The main strength of this work was the inclusion of essential oils in addition to cosmetics in the model. For the first time, the generated data could be used to compare the contribution of these two products in dermal exposure. Essential oils appear to be significant contributors to exposure to limonene particularly for the face. This work is a first step that will permit to determine the exposure to other fragrance compounds with sensitizing potential.These data will be useful for risk managers to consider the inclusion of essential oils in the overall burden of this pathology.

Better understanding of bioavailability of cosmetic ingredients: Results from Cosmetics Europe Skin Bioavailability project

The knowledge of aggregate exposure to different types of products is paramount in the risk assessment.The aim of this study was to compare the relative contribution of essential oils compared to cosmetics on the daily dermal exposure to limonene, an ubiquitous fragrance compound that can be an allergen depending on its degree of oxidation.Aggregate daily exposure to limonene was calculated among a panel of French volunteers using both essential oils and cosmetics, for 4 different specific zones, i.e. face and neck, chest, upper limbs and lower limbs. Calculations were made using a probabilistic Monte Carlo method and sensitivity analysis.The main strength of this work was the inclusion of essential oils in addition to cosmetics in the model. For the first time, the generated data could be used to compare the contribution of these two products in dermal exposure. Essential oils appear to be significant contributors to exposure to limonene particularly for the face. This work is a first step that will permit to determine the exposure to other fragrance compounds with sensitizing potential.These data will be useful for risk managers to consider the inclusion of essential oils in the overall burden of this pathology.

The human plasma-metabolome: Reference values in 800 French healthy volunteers; impact of cholesterol, gender and age.

Metabolomic approaches are increasingly used to identify new disease biomarkers, yet normal values of many plasma metabolites remain poorly defined. The aim of this study was to define the “normal” metabolome in healthy volunteers. We included 800 French volunteers aged between 18 and 86, equally distributed according to sex, free of any medication and considered healthy on the basis of their medical history, clinical examination and standard laboratory tests. We quantified 185 plasma metabolites, including amino acids, biogenic amines, acylcarnitines, phosphatidylcholines, sphingomyelins and hexose, using tandem mass spectrometry with the Biocrates AbsoluteIDQ p180 kit. Principal components analysis was applied to identify the main factors responsible for metabolome variability and orthogonal projection to latent structures analysis was employed to confirm the observed patterns and identify pattern-related metabolites. We established a plasma metabolite reference dataset for 144/185 metabolites. Total blood cholesterol, gender and age were identified as the principal factors explaining metabolome variability. High total blood cholesterol levels were associated with higher plasma sphingomyelins and phosphatidylcholines concentrations. Compared to women, men had higher concentrations of creatinine, branched-chain amino acids and lysophosphatidylcholines, and lower concentrations of sphingomyelins and phosphatidylcholines. Elderly healthy subjects had higher sphingomyelins and phosphatidylcholines plasma levels than young subjects. We established reference human metabolome values in a large and well-defined population of French healthy volunteers. This study provides an essential baseline for defining the “normal” metabolome and its main sources of variation.

Francuzi w hiszpańskiej wojnie domowej: walka przeciwko faszyzmowi i obrona ojczyzny

Mimo podjętej przez Paryż decyzji o nieinterwencji francuscy ochotnicy stanowili największy kontyngent pośród obcokrajowców wojujących w hiszpańskiej wojnie domowej. Francuskie archiwa wojskowe i polityczne, nawet jeśli niezbyt często pojawiają się studia poświęcone tej problematyce, ukazują ideologiczną motywację przeciwko „faszyzmowi”, również ze względów patriotycznych. Walka przeciwko hiszpańskiej rebelii wojskowej mogła być podjęta w imię obrony francuskiego modelu republiki i demokracji. Artykuł przedstawia doświadczenia francuskich ochotników (głównie robotników) z punktu widzenia ich indywidulanego zaangażowania w lipcu 1936 r. Analizuje ich rolę i ich działania w ramach Brygad Międzynarodowych. Dotyczy również ich powrotów do Francji z punktu widzenia francuskich władz politycznych i wojskowych.

‘La Grande Armeé in Field Gray’: The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism, 1941

ABSTRACTThis article has been compiled on the basis of documents from French, German, and Soviet archives and reconstructs the history of the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (LVF) in 1941. Often neglected or scarcely mentioned, the 638th Infantry Regiment was the only formation of the Wehrmacht that took part in the advance on Moscow. Undertrained, poorly equipped, and torn by inside political rivalries, the regiment still marched to the front and fought the Red Army in December 1941. Being almost destroyed, the formation was then withdrawn and thoroughly purged and reshaped by the Germans, who wanted to gain more from the collaboration with the Frenchmen. The experience of 1941 thus constitutes the first — even if unsuccessful — stage of this collaboration, both military and political, that dragged on until 1944.

Débuter sa carrière professionnelle en Afrique

Cet article propose une approche comparee des migrations liees au volontariat francais au Senegal et a Madagascar, dans des structures de l’aide internationale et de la cooperation. Ce dispositif institutionnel reunit des profils et horizons professionnels pluriels de jeunes âges de 20 a 35 ans qui constituent une categorie sociale specifique au sein des reseaux expatries. Plusieurs paradoxes contrarient leur ideal et volonte d’immersion sociale locale. Leur mobilite, organisee depuis la France, participe a la definition d’une elite economique et socioprofessionnelle locale, malgre la faiblesse de leur statut hierarchique et de leurs revenus. Les etiquettes sociales auxquelles les volontaires sont renvoyes evoquent des privileges qui nourrissent aussi une fracture ethno-racialisee. Differents mecanismes et contradictions contribuent donc a developper des cercles de l’entre-soi.

Unemployment is associated with high cardiovascular event rate and increased all-cause mortality in middle-aged socially privileged individuals.

To assess prospectively the association between employment status and cardiovascular health outcomes in socially privileged individuals. The incidence of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality rate were monitored during 12 years in a national sample of 5,852 French volunteers, aged 45-64 years, who were free of cardiovascular disease or other overt disease at baseline. The association between health outcomes and employment status was tested using Cox proportional modelling with adjustment for confounding factors. Compared to randomly selected individuals, these volunteers were characterized by higher education level and socio-economic status and lower cardiovascular risk and mortality rate. A total of 242 cardiovascular events (3.5 events per 1,000 person-years) and 152 deaths from all causes (2.2 deaths per 1,000 person-years) occurred during follow-up. After adjustment for age and gender, both cardiovascular event risk [HR (95% CI) 1.84 (1.15-2.83), p = 0.01] and all-cause mortality [2.79 (1.66-4.47), p = 0.0002] were increased in unemployed individuals compared to workers. These poor health outcomes were observed to the same extent after further adjustment for clinical, behavioural and socio-demographic characteristics of individuals at baseline [HR (95% CI) 1.74 (1.07-2.72), p = 0.03 and 2.89 (1.70-4.69), p = 0.0002, respectively]. In contrast, neither cardiovascular event risk nor all-cause mortality was significantly increased in retired individuals compared to workers after adjustment for confounding factors. These results support the existence of a link between unemployment and poor cardiovascular health and suggest that this link is not mediated by conventional risk factors in middle-aged socially privileged individuals.

Motivations, Death Anxiety, and Empathy in Hospice Volunteers in France.

This study examined the motivations for volunteering of hospice volunteers in France. In addition, their levels of death anxiety and empathy were measured and compared with those of French non-hospice volunteers and non-volunteers. Three questionnaires-the Inventory of Motivations for Hospice Palliative Care Volunteerism (IMHPCV), the Templer/McMordie Death Anxiety Scale, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index-were sent via an Internet link to 2 hospice volunteer associations and to non-hospice volunteers and non-volunteers (only the hospice volunteers received the IMHPCV). Altruistic motives had the most influence on the respondents' decision to become a hospice volunteer. French hospice volunteers scored significantly lower on 3 categories of motives on the IMHPCV compared to a sample of Canadian hospice palliative care volunteers (study 2), suggesting that cultural differences may be involved. No significant differences were found in levels of death anxiety or empathy between the 3 groups of respondents of the study.

French volunteers in Italy, 1848–49: a collective incarnation of the fraternity of the peoples and of the tradition of French military engagement in Italy and Europe

Out of the thousands of Frenchmen who attempted to join the 1848–49 Italian revolution movement, more than 1,200 actually played a significant role in the various revolutionary struggles. Based on the investigation of the participation of the French volunteers in the Italian revolutions of 1848–49, this article shows that the 1848 revolutions were European not in the sense that they spread across Europe simultaneously, but because of the presence of international volunteers who were constantly moving from one part of Europe to another. The enlistment of volunteers in France for the 1848 Italian cause is examined in terms of the circulation of political and military models that were inspired both by the idea of the ‘Fraternity of the Peoples’ in 1848 but also by an older tradition of French military involvement in Italy and Europe. The little-known case of the French volunteers who went to fight in Sicily in 1849, first ‘Expedition of the Thousand', provides a case study for explaining the enthusiasm that the French volunteers showed for the Italian cause.

From social outcasts to stars of the mainstream: The combatants of the Collaboration in post-war France

Focusing on those French collaborators who fought for the Nazis as members of the Legion of French Volunteers against Bolshevism, the Sturmbrigade Frankreich/Division Charlemagne of the Waffen SS, the Malgr nous (against our wills) and the Milice (Militia), and especially on their portrayal in literature and in films, this article examines the political and cultural responses to these soldiers from the Liberation through to the present. As a result of a complicated process of mythologizing and counter-mythologizing, it is argued, representations of these combatants can be seen to have changed radically over the years, allowing them to progress from being social outcasts reviled in France to prominent, though often no less reviled, stars of the mainstream.