Food Security of Temporary Foreign Farm Workers under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program in Canada and the United States: A Scoping Review

Temporary foreign farm workers (TFWs) are among the most vulnerable and exploitable groups. Recent research shows alarming rates of food insecurity among them. This review explores research focussing on food security of TFWs in Canada and the United States, summarizes findings, and identifies research gaps. Online databases, including MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and government and nongovernment websites, and websites of migrant worker-supporting organizations were searched for peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed papers and reports published between 1966 and 2020 regarding food security of TFWs. Articles reviewed were analyzed to determine publication type, country, year, target population, and main findings. Content analysis was performed to identify major themes. Of 291 sources identified, 11 met the inclusion criteria. Most articles (n = 10) were based on studies conducted in the United States. The prevalence of food insecurity among TFWs ranged between 28% and 87%. From the content analysis, we formulated 9 themes, representing a diversity of perspectives, including access to resources, income, housing and related facilities, food access, dietary pattern and healthy food choices, and migrant's legal status. Instruments reported for the measurement of food security include USDA Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM; n = 8, 72.7%), the modified version of the USDA HFSSM (n = 1, 9%), hunger measure (n = 1, 9%), the modified CDC's NHANES (n = 1, 9%), and 24-h recall, diet history, and/or food-frequency questionnaire (n = 3, 27.3%). Factors impacting food security of TFWs working under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Programs (SAWPs) in North America are understudied. There is a need to advance research looking particularly at policies and regulatory and administrative aspects of the SAWPs to improve the food security of this cohort. There is also a need for qualitative studies that explore lived experiences and perspectives of TFWs and key informants. Longitudinal studies may be useful to examine various factors, including policy-related, contributing to food insecurity of TFWs over time.

(Not That) Essential: A Scoping Review of Migrant Workers' Access to Health Services and Social Protection during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand

Migrant workers have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To examine their access to health services and social protection during the pandemic, we conducted an exploratory scoping review on experiences of migrant workers in three countries with comparable immigration, health, and welfare policies: Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. After screening 961 peer-reviewed and grey literature sources, five studies were included. Using immigration status as a lens, we found that despite more inclusive policies in response to the pandemic, temporary migrant workers, especially migrant farm workers and international students, remained excluded from health services and social protection. Findings demonstrate that exploitative employment practices, precarity, and racism contribute to the continued exclusion of temporary migrant workers. The interplay between these factors, with structural racism at its core, reflect the colonial histories of these countries and their largely neoliberal approaches to immigration. To address this inequity, proactive action that recognizes and targets these structural determinants at play is essential.

Responding to the health needs of migrant farm workers in South Africa: Opportunities and challenges for sustainable community-based responses

Reflecting global trends, migrant farm workers in South Africa experience challenges in accessing healthcare. On the commercial farms in Musina, a sub-district bordering Zimbabwe, Medécins sans Frontières and the International Organization for Migration both implemented migration-aware community-based programmes that included the training of community-based healthcare workers, to address these challenges. Using qualitative data, this paper explores the experiences that migrant farm workers, specifically those involved in the programmes, had of these interventions. A total of 79 semi-structured interviews were completed with migrant farm workers, farm managers, NGO employees and civil servants between January 2017 and July 2018. These data were supplemented by a review of grey and published literature, as well as observation and field notes. Findings indicate that participants were primarily positive about the interventions. However, since the departure of both Medécins sans Frontières and the International Organization for Migration, community members have struggled to sustain the projects and the structural differences between the two programmes have created tensions. This paper highlights the ways in which local interventions that mobilise community members can improve the access that rural, migrant farming communities have to healthcare. However, it simultaneously points to the ways in which these interventions are unsustainable given the realities of non-state interventions and the fragmented state approach to community-based healthcare workers. The findings presented in this paper support global calls for the inclusion of migration and health in government policy making at all levels. However, findings also capture the limitations of community-based interventions that do not recognise community-based healthcare workers as social actors and fail to take into account their motivations, desires and need for continued supervision. As such, ensuring that the ways in which migration and health are included in policy making are sustainable emerges as a necessary element to be included in global calls.

Access to Health Care by Migrant Farm Workers on Fruit Plantations in Eastern Thailand

OBJECTIVES

This study was undertaken to elucidate factors that influenced access to health care for migrant farm workers from Cambodia employed on fruit plantations in eastern Thailand.

METHODS

Data were collected from 861 participants via interview questions and focus group discussions.

RESULTS

The results revealed that 58.2% of immigrant workers were male, averaged 30.4 years of age, and 56.3% had no formal education. In the past year, 28% reported back pain and 25% had joint pain. Most of the workers (89.8%) received health care services at a nearby government health promotion hospital (THPH). From the analysis of factors contributing to the access to health services among immigrant farm workers, the data indicate that the Cambodian workers had few concerns with their ability to access health care services, reporting high and medium levels of satisfaction (with odds ratios [ORs] of 6.19 and 3.94, respectively) versus being unsatisfied. The differences between those who reported significant minor illnesses and serious illness were important, as workers with significant complaints were 3.17 and 4.85 times more likely, respectively, to have sought medical treatment than those not reporting illness.

CONCLUSION

The main recommendation resulting from this study is that factors leading to higher degrees of satisfaction with health care services by migrant farm workers for preventative care could be improved.