Stability of Household and Housing Characteristics Among Farmworker Families in North Carolina: Implications for Health

Agricultural Stakeholders' Perceptions of Occupational Health and Safety in the Southeastern U.S. Coastal States

Agriculture remains a highly dangerous industry for occupational health and safety. This study sought to understand the perspective of agricultural professionals with respect to the current state of the industry, challenges, and opportunities relevant to occupational health and safety. Additional questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in the findings as well. Eleven industry professionals were interviewed, and the transcripts were qualitatively analyzed for emergent themes following a constant comparative method. Three themes emerged in our findings: a description of the current state of occupational health and safety in the agricultural industry, barriers to improving occupational health and safety, and enablers of occupational health and safety. Each theme contained subthemes. The description of the industry encompassed regulations, inherent danger, and attitudes and education. Barriers included education, health care access, logistics, discrimination and cultural competency, economic considerations, and the labor contracting system. Enablers included education, regulations, and health care and prevention. These findings are consistent with existing literature, revealing interconnected and overlapping challenges and opportunities. Further research is recommended with a broader sample of participants, especially farmworkers.

A Mobile Primary Care Clinic Mitigates an Early COVID-19 Outbreak Among Migrant Farmworkers in Iowa

Migrant and seasonal farmworkers are a vulnerable population with unique health and safety challenges related to the entire spectrum of the social determinants of health. These challenges place migrant and seasonal farmworkers at a disproportionate risk of infection and illness because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This report presents a case study of an early COVID-19 outbreak among migrant farmworkers in Iowa and describes the role that a nimble and responsive mobile federally qualified health center played in the successful mitigation and response to this outbreak. Early during the pandemic, the clinic adopted a new model of service delivery utilizing telemedicine primary care visits, followed by in-person visits when necessary. As the pandemic progressed, clinic staff strategized to provide increased pandemic-related support to agricultural employers and migrant farmworkers across the state. Emphasis was placed on on-site testing and education regarding social distancing, mask utilization, and hand washing. Eventually, as migrant workers were infected and became symptomatic, more complex mitigation strategies such as isolation, quarantine, and clinical follow-up were also implemented. This report describes how a mobile primary care clinic developed a pandemic responsive model to provide successful mitigation of an early COVID-19 outbreak among essential and highly vulnerable migrant farmworkers.

Advocating for Immigration Policies that Promote Children's Health

Immigration laws and policies, as well as related media and public discourse, have a direct and significant effect on the health and well-being of children and families. The purpose of this article is to identify the impact of family immigration status and immigration laws on children's health, to understand the legal system that immigrant children face, and to describe opportunities for health care professionals to engage in advocacy at the systems level, from the local community to Capitol Hill.

Heat-Related Illness in Midwestern Hispanic Farmworkers: A Descriptive Analysis of Hydration Status and Reported Symptoms

Heat-related illness (HRI) is a largely undocumented phenomenon in Midwestern Hispanic migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States. Frequently, the physiological burden of crop production is overlooked while workers are in the fields. We completed a mixed-methods study using a cross-sectional survey among migrant and seasonal farmworkers about their experience with HRI symptoms ( N = 148) and conducted an intensive surveillance on a smaller group of workers ( N = 20) in field trials ( N = 57 trials) using a chest-strapped multi-parameter monitoring wearable sensor (MPMWS) that measured skin/body temperature, heart and breathing rate, kilocalories burned per hour, and provided a physiological intensity (PI) score. The field trials were conducted across three classes of climate conditions and three PI score categories. We found that those in the uncomfortable category (PI score > 4.0) had a statistically significant ( F ratio = 16.41, p < .001) higher body temperatures ( M = 100.05°F) than those with a mild PI (range = 0-5) score ⩽ 2.5 ( M = 99.56°F) or moderate PI score > 2.5-4 (99.84°F). We also found that those in the uncomfortable climate condition category had a higher mean heart rate and breathing rate than those working under mild and moderate field trials.

Residential Environment for Outdoor Play Among Children in Latino Farmworker Families

Child health and development benefit from physical activity. This analysis describes the residential play environment for children aged 2-4 years in farmworker families, their parent-reported levels of play and media time, and the association of residential environment with play and media time. Mothers with a child aged 2-4 years in farmworker families (n = 248) completed interviews over 2 years. Outcome measures were daily outdoor play time and media time. Measures of the residential environment included physical and social components. The mean min/day for outdoor play was 81.8 (SD 57.3) at baseline, 111.4 (SD 90.1) at year 1 follow-up, and 103.6 (SD 76.2) at year 2 follow-up. The mean media min/day at baseline was 83.8 (SD 64.3), 93.7 (SD 80.3) min/day at year 1 follow-up, and 59.9 min/day (SD (45.6) at year 2 follow-up. One additional person per bedroom was associated with 6 fewer min/day with media. The addition of each age appropriate toy was associated with an additional 12.3 min/day of outdoor play. An additional type of inappropriate media was associated with 6.8 more min/day with media. These results suggest changes to the residential environment to improve physical activity among children in Latino farmworker families.