Migrant agricultural workers' deaths in Ontario from January 2020 to June 2021: a qualitative descriptive study.
Int J Equity Health 2022;
21:98. [PMID:
35842656 PMCID:
PMC9287708 DOI:
10.1186/s12939-022-01692-7]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Nine migrant agricultural workers died in Ontario, Canada, between January 2020 and June 2021.
Methods
To better understand the factors that contributed to the deaths of these migrant agricultural workers, we used a modified qualitative descriptive approach. A research team of clinical and academic experts reviewed coroner files of the nine deceased workers and undertook an accompanying media scan. A minimum of two reviewers read each file using a standardized data extraction tool.
Results
We identified four domains of risk, each of which encompassed various factors that likely exacerbated the risk of poor health outcomes: (1) recruitment and travel risks; (2) missed steps and substandard conditions of healthcare monitoring, quarantine, and isolation; (3) barriers to accessing healthcare; and (4) missing information and broader issues of concern.
Conclusion
Migrant agricultural workers have been disproportionately harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Greater attention to the unique needs of this population is required to avoid further preventable deaths.
Collapse