Migrant workers
face unique health challenges that are related to mobility, demographic
factors, and shared experiences in
this segment of the workforce. As noted in the studies described in this
section, many migrant farmworkers have low educational and income levels,
live in poor-quality housing, lack transportation, are geographically isolated
from health clinics and other services, and face dangerous working conditions.
Undocumented farmworkers face additional challenges such as racism and
difficulty claiming workers' compensation for illness related to pesticide
exposure or injuries. These studies show that migrant farmworkers are at
risk for poor diet, pain, stress or anxiety, and chronic health conditions.
The
authors make several recommendations about how to improve the health
of migrant workers. These include improving migrant workers' access to
health care services; implementing health promotion programs targeted
to at-risk populations based on mobility; instituting binational approaches
with Mexican organizations and officials; increasing access to affordable
housing; improving housing code enforcement; and strengthening health
and
safety standards and their enforcement.
The
California Endowment CEO Task Force on Agricultural Worker Health and
the Tomás
Rivera Policy Institute. The bounty of food: the poverty of health. Claremont,
CA: Tomás Rivera Policy Institute; 2001.
Lighthall D. Best practices
for migrant workers: community health care by private clinics for
migrant
farmworkers: the case of the Sablan Medical Clinic. Davis,
CA: California Institute for Rural Studies; 2000.
Mines R, Mullenax N, Saca
L. The binational farmworker health survey: an in-depth study
of agricultural worker health in Mexico and the United States. Davis,
CA: California Institute for Rural Studies; 2001.
Perilla
JL, Wilson AH, Wold JL, Spencer L. Listening to migrant voices: focus groups
on health issues in South Georgia. Journal of Community Health Nursing.
1998;15:251-263.
Strong MF, Maralani VJ. Farmworkers
and Disability: Results of a National Survey. Oakland, CA: Berkeley
Planning Associates; 1998.
Villarejo
D, Baron SL. The occupational health status of hired farm workers. Occupational
Medicine. 1999;14:613-635.
Villarejo
D, Lighthall D, et al. Suffering in silence: a report on the
health of California's agricultural workers. Woodland Hills,
CA: The California Endowment and California Institute for Rural Studies;
2000.
