Journal of Agromedicine
Volume 17, Issue 4, 2012, Pages 386-397

Mobile Farm Clinic Outreach to Address Health Conditions Among Latino Migrant Farmworkers in Georgia (Article)

Luque J.S. , Reyes-Ortiz C. , Marella P. , Bowers A. , Panchal V. , Anderson L. , Charles S.
  • a Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Hendricks Hall, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460-8015, United States
  • b Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Hendricks Hall, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460-8015, United States
  • c Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Hendricks Hall, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460-8015, United States
  • d Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Hendricks Hall, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460-8015, United States
  • e Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Hendricks Hall, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460-8015, United States
  • f Southeast Georgia Communities Project, Lyons, GA, United States
  • g Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Hendricks Hall, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460-8015, United States

Abstract

Agricultural labor involves exposure to many occupational hazards, some of which can lead to chronic health conditions. The purpose of this study was to conduct an occupational health needs assessment of illnesses and work-related injuries among a Latino migrant farmworker population (recruited to harvest Vidalia onions) in South Georgia. Study data included survey responses from 100 farmworkers attending mobile farm clinics in 2010 at their worker housing residences, supplemented by medical diagnoses data from the same clinics collected over 3 years (2009-2011) for 1161 farmworkers at six different farms. From the survey, the main health problems reported were hypertension (25%), eye problems (12%), musculoskeletal problems (11%), diabetes (10%), and depression (7%). In multivariate analyses, depression scores were associated with having a history of musculoskeletal problems (p =.002). According to the mobile farm clinic data, the most common medical diagnoses included back pain (11.8%), hypertension (11.4%), musculoskeletal problems (11.3%), gastrointestinal disorders (8.6%), eye problems (7.2%), dermatitis or rash (7.0%), and tinea or fungal skin infections (5.6%). The study identified eye and musculoskeletal problems as the major occupational health conditions for this population of farmworkers. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Author Keywords

Farmworker Latino Musculoskeletal symptoms occupational epidemiology eye safety Agriculture

Index Keywords

depression Mobile Health Units dermatitis occupational disease human middle aged diabetes mellitus Eye Diseases hypertension eye disease Aged Vidalia Georgia Hispanic Americans musculoskeletal disease Cross-Sectional Studies Musculoskeletal Diseases United States Young Adult cross-sectional study Humans Hispanic Adolescent male female preventive health service questionnaire Agricultural Workers' Diseases Article Questionnaires adult migration Transients and Migrants Health Services Accessibility health care delivery
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84866540099&doi=10.1080%2f1059924X.2012.713837&partnerID=40&md5=eb7958798db3da198a52b262cbd2ce37
DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2012.713837
ISSN: 1059924X
Cited by: 12
Original Language: English