{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T04:26:54Z","timestamp":1787286414957,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787097600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100023303","name":"Accessibility Standards Canada","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100023303","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0371emz31","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Association pour la sant\u00e9 environnementale du Qu\u00e9bec-Environmental Health Association of Qu\u00e9bec"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health","IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Indoor air quality (IAQ) represents a key public health and accessibility concern. Improving IAQ through policies and practices that reduce exposure to fragranced products and other indoor air contaminants may enhance accessibility and support equitable participation for individuals with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). Methods: Using a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods design, we examined IAQ accessibility barriers and explored perceived implementation and accessibility gaps in existing fragrance-free policies among sixty individuals with MCS and related IAQ exposures across ten focus groups. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected in parallel, with thematic analysis conducted in NVivo. A structured IAQ and policy survey was administered to quantify reported experiences and policy impacts. Results: Approximately 63.3% of focus group participants reported dissatisfaction with the indoor environments they encountered. Qualitative findings highlighted indoor environments as inaccessible, inadequately controlled, and associated with ongoing exposure to fragranced products as well as other indoor pollutants. These findings indicate that current approaches often fail to ensure accessibility, leaving individuals with MCS exposed and excluded from full participation in workplaces, healthcare settings, and other public spaces. Conclusions: Comprehensive fragrance-free policies incorporating source control, education, ventilation, and accountability mechanisms may reduce exposure while improving accessibility and inclusion across the built environment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph23081077","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T09:30:53Z","timestamp":1787131853000},"page":"1077","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Fragrance-Free Policies in Practice: Identifying Perceived Implementation Gaps Through Lived Experience in a Qualitative-Dominant Mixed-Methods Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"given":"Sudipta","family":"Roy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Association pour la sant\u00e9 environnementale du Qu\u00e9bec-Environmental Health Association of Qu\u00e9bec (ASEQ-EHAQ), Saint-Sauveur, QC J0R 1R1, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nene A.","family":"Diallo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Association pour la sant\u00e9 environnementale du Qu\u00e9bec-Environmental Health Association of Qu\u00e9bec (ASEQ-EHAQ), Saint-Sauveur, QC J0R 1R1, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"John","family":"Molot","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1G 5Z3, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert","family":"Lattanzio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ARCH Disability Law Centre, Toronto, ON M5J 2H7, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6410-9943","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Riina","family":"Bray","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Environmental Health Clinic, Women\u2019s College Hospital, Toronto, ON M5S 1B2, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jennifer","family":"Armstrong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ottawa Environmental Health Clinic, Ottawa, ON K2H 5A8, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1715-1492","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rohini","family":"Peris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Association pour la sant\u00e9 environnementale du Qu\u00e9bec-Environmental Health Association of Qu\u00e9bec (ASEQ-EHAQ), Saint-Sauveur, QC J0R 1R1, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"861","DOI":"10.1007\/s11869-016-0442-z","article-title":"Fragranced consumer products: Exposures and effects from emissions","volume":"9","author":"Steinemann","year":"2016","journal-title":"Air Qual. 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