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Martin MC, Perez Orozco J, Tovar-Aguilar JA, Morera MC, Gusto C, Forst LS, Monaghan P. Social Vulnerabilities Among Hired Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers During COVID-19: The Need for Employment-Based Indicators. J Agromedicine 2024; 29:701-711. [PMID: 39138587 DOI: 10.1080/1059924x.2024.2388869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study aimed to explore farmworkers' experiences of social vulnerability during the peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS Telephone surveys of 63 migrant and seasonal farmworkers across three major agricultural areas in Florida were conducted. The survey, designed and disseminated with critical support from a statewide farmworker membership and advocacy organization, included items related to social and occupational precarity and a suite of demographic conditions, including specific employment-based indicators and categories. Data were analyzed with SPSS using a series of statistical significance tests including Pearson's Chi-Square, Fisher's Exact, T-tests, and Mann-Whitney U. An open-ended question regarding employment precarity was also analyzed for frequencies of responses pertaining to a set of descriptive categories. RESULTS Survey findings demonstrated a high degree of social vulnerability among the farmworker sample, with notable variation in the type and severity of vulnerability and risk exposure across employment-based indicators and occupational categories. For example, a cross-industry comparison between vegetable field workers and greenhouse nursery workers revealed a disparity in COVID-exposure risk through commuting characteristics, as 43% of vegetable field workers used shared, employer-provided transport, while 68% of nursery workers used personal vehicles. CONCLUSION While previous research has broadly established the extreme precarity of migrant and seasonal farmworkers during the peak COVID-19 period, the variability of experience, exposure to risk, and social vulnerability between farmworkers representing distinct employment-based indicators and occupational categories demonstrated in this study contributes to widening awareness of the importance of assessing farmworker experiences at a more granular level. In addition to delineating social vulnerability across key demographic categories, cross-industry comparisons between farmworkers revealed significant discrepancies in risk and vulnerability to COVID-19. Future research that further explores this variability may reveal opportunities to improve disaster-relief planning and mitigate social vulnerability in future disaster scenarios. The importance of surveying the vulnerability of worker populations, aside from geographic communities, is highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Cody Gusto
- University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Linda S Forst
- Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA
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Hansson E, Jakobsson K, Glaser J, Wesseling C, Chavarria D, Lucas RAI, Prince H, Wegman DH. Impact of heat and a rest-shade-hydration intervention program on productivity of piece-paid industrial agricultural workers at risk of chronic kidney disease of nontraditional origin. Ann Work Expo Health 2024; 68:366-375. [PMID: 38367206 PMCID: PMC11033565 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxae007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Assess the impact of environmental heat and a rest-shade-hydration (RSH) intervention against heat stress on productivity of piece-paid Mesoamerican sugarcane cutters. These workers are at a high risk of chronic kidney disease of non-traditional origin (CKDnt), from the severe heat stress they experience due to heavy work under hot conditions. RSH interventions in these populations improve kidney health outcomes, but their impact on productivity has yet to be examined. METHODS We accessed routine productivity data from seed (SC, N = 749) and burned (BCC, N = 535) sugarcane cutters observed over five harvest seasons with increasing RSH intervention at a large Nicaraguan sugarcane mill. Hourly field-site wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) was recorded by mill staff and summarized as a daily mean. Mixed linear regression was used to model daily productivity, adjusting for age (18-29, 30-44, and >45 years), sex, WBGT (<28, 28-29, 29-30, 30-31, and >31 °C) on the same and preceding day, harvest season (2017-18 to 2021-22), month, and acclimatization status (<1, 1-2, and >2 weeks). RESULTS There was an inverse dose-response relationship between SC productivity and WBGT on the same and preceding days, decreasing by approximately 3%/°C WBGT. Productivity increased during the study period, i.e. coinciding with RSH scale-up, by approximately 19% in SC and 9% in BCC. CONCLUSION Agricultural worker productivity was expected lower on hotter days, strengthening the interest in all stakeholders to mitigate increasing global temperatures and their impact. Despite decreasing the total time allocated for work each day, an RSH intervention appears to result in increased productivity and no apparent loss in productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Hansson
- La Isla Network, 2219 California NW Unit 52, 20008 Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Box 414, 413 90 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Kristina Jakobsson
- La Isla Network, 2219 California NW Unit 52, 20008 Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Box 414, 413 90 Gothenburg, Sweden
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Box 414, 413 90 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jason Glaser
- La Isla Network, 2219 California NW Unit 52, 20008 Washington, District of Columbia, United States
| | - Catharina Wesseling
- La Isla Network, 2219 California NW Unit 52, 20008 Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Box 210, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Denis Chavarria
- Occupational Health Management, Ingenio San Antonio/Nicaragua Sugar Estates Limited, Km. 119 Carretera León-Chinandega, Chichigalpa, Nicaragua
| | - Rebekah A I Lucas
- La Isla Network, 2219 California NW Unit 52, 20008 Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Heath Prince
- La Isla Network, 2219 California NW Unit 52, 20008 Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, 2315 Red River St, Austin, TX 78712,United States
| | - David H Wegman
- La Isla Network, 2219 California NW Unit 52, 20008 Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- University of Massachusetts Lowell, 1 University Avenue, Lowell, 01854 MA, United States
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Glaser J, Wegman DH, Arias-Monge E, Pacheco-Zenteno F, Prince H, Chavarria D, Martinez-Cuadra WJ, Jakobsson K, Hansson E, Lucas RAI, Weiss I, Wesseling C. Workplace Intervention for Heat Stress: Essential Elements of Design, Implementation, and Assessment. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19073779. [PMID: 35409463 PMCID: PMC8998134 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19073779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Heat stress is associated with numerous health effects that potentially harm workers, especially in a warming world. This investigation occurred in a setting where laborers are confronted with occupational heat stress from physically demanding work in high environmental temperatures. Collaboration with a major Nicaraguan sugarcane producer offered the opportunity to study interventions to prevent occupational heat-stress-related kidney disease. Two aims for this study of a rest-shade-water intervention program were: (1) describe the evolving intervention, summarize findings that motivated proposed improvements, assess impact of those improvements, and identify challenges to successful implementation and (2) extract primary lessons learned about intervention research that have both general relevance to investigations of work-related disease prevention and specific relevance to this setting. The learning curve for the various stakeholders as well as the barriers to success demonstrate that effectiveness of an intervention cannot be adequately assessed without considerations of implementation. Designing, effectively implementing, and assessing both health impacts and implementation quality is a resource-intensive endeavor requiring a transdisciplinary approach. Both general and specific lessons learned are presented for decisions on study design and study elements, implementation assessment, and management engagement in understanding how productivity and health can be successfully balanced and for building effective communication between investigators and all levels of management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Glaser
- La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA; (E.A.-M.); (W.J.M.-C.); (K.J.); (E.H.); (R.A.I.L.); (I.W.); (C.W.)
- Correspondence: (J.G.); (D.H.W.); Tel.: +1-(347)-585-7465 (J.G.); +1-(617)-921-1506 (D.H.W.)
| | - David H. Wegman
- La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA; (E.A.-M.); (W.J.M.-C.); (K.J.); (E.H.); (R.A.I.L.); (I.W.); (C.W.)
- University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
- Correspondence: (J.G.); (D.H.W.); Tel.: +1-(347)-585-7465 (J.G.); +1-(617)-921-1506 (D.H.W.)
| | - Esteban Arias-Monge
- La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA; (E.A.-M.); (W.J.M.-C.); (K.J.); (E.H.); (R.A.I.L.); (I.W.); (C.W.)
- Unidad de Gestión Ambiental y Seguridad Laboral, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, 15th Street, 14th Avenue, Cartago 159-7050, Costa Rica
| | - Felipe Pacheco-Zenteno
- School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden;
| | - Heath Prince
- Ray Marshall Center, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, 3001 Lake Austin Blvd., Ste. 3.200, Austin, TX 78703, USA;
| | - Denis Chavarria
- Occupational Health, Ingenio San Antonio, Chinandega 26100, Nicaragua;
| | - William Jose Martinez-Cuadra
- La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA; (E.A.-M.); (W.J.M.-C.); (K.J.); (E.H.); (R.A.I.L.); (I.W.); (C.W.)
| | - Kristina Jakobsson
- La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA; (E.A.-M.); (W.J.M.-C.); (K.J.); (E.H.); (R.A.I.L.); (I.W.); (C.W.)
- School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden;
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Erik Hansson
- La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA; (E.A.-M.); (W.J.M.-C.); (K.J.); (E.H.); (R.A.I.L.); (I.W.); (C.W.)
- School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden;
| | - Rebekah A. I. Lucas
- La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA; (E.A.-M.); (W.J.M.-C.); (K.J.); (E.H.); (R.A.I.L.); (I.W.); (C.W.)
- School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Ilana Weiss
- La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA; (E.A.-M.); (W.J.M.-C.); (K.J.); (E.H.); (R.A.I.L.); (I.W.); (C.W.)
| | - Catharina Wesseling
- La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA; (E.A.-M.); (W.J.M.-C.); (K.J.); (E.H.); (R.A.I.L.); (I.W.); (C.W.)
- Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Solnavägen 4, 113 65 Stockholm, Sweden
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Pacheco-Zenteno F, Glaser J, Jakobsson K, Weiss I, Arias-Monge E, Gyllensten K. The Prevention of Occupational Heat Stress in Sugarcane Workers in Nicaragua-An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Front Public Health 2021; 9:713711. [PMID: 34712636 PMCID: PMC8545795 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.713711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Chronic kidney disease of non-traditional origin (CKDnt) is an ongoing epidemic that has taken the lives of tens of thousands of people in Mesoamerica, also affecting other tropical geographies. Occupational heat stress, which will increase worldwide as climate change persists, has been identified as a primary trigger of kidney injury and reduced renal function. At Nicaragua's largest sugarcane mill, the water, rest, and shade (WRS) intervention has proven to reduce the risk of heat stress and kidney injury effectively as assessed by the research and policy NGO La Isla Network (LIN) and their academic partners, who have worked with the sugar mill to improve the design of their intervention system. However, discrepancies between intervention design and implementation have been found. This study explores the perceptions of the WRS intervention in the company from the perspective of positions responsible for the workers' environment and heat stress prevention implementation. Methods: A qualitative design was used in the study. Twenty-one key informants of low and middle management, field assistants, and two members from LIN took part in the study. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. Interviews' transcriptions were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results: Four main themes were developed in the analysis of the data: “A worthwhile struggle,” “Culture of care”, “Traditional production culture Vs. Culture of care,” and “The importance of the formalization of care.” Each theme contained sub-themes, all of which were further discussed in the light of organizational psychology. Conclusion and Implications: Discretionary differences resulting in low and middle management prioritizing production over health protection appeared to relate to a fair part of the implementation challenges and indicate that more efforts are needed to align operations' production and health goals. Education enhancement might be necessary, while further focus on health metrics for performance assessment might offer an opportunity to level perceived incentives and value of health and production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Pacheco-Zenteno
- School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jason Glaser
- La Isla Network, Washington, DC, United States.,Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Kristina Jakobsson
- School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,La Isla Network, Washington, DC, United States.,Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Ilana Weiss
- La Isla Network, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Esteban Arias-Monge
- La Isla Network, Washington, DC, United States.,Departamento de Gestión Ambiental y Seguridad Laboral, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Cartago, Costa Rica
| | - Kristina Gyllensten
- School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
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