Journal of Agromedicine
Volume 17, Issue 4, 2012, Pages 415-420

Informal Occupational Safety Information Exchange Among Latino Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers (Article)

Spears C.R. , Summers P.Y. , Spencer K.M. , Arcury T.A.
  • a Department of Family and Community Medicine, and the Center for Worker Health, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, United States
  • b Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
  • c EIC Laboratories, Inc., Norwood, MA, United States
  • d Department of Family and Community Medicine, and the Center for Worker Health, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, United States

Abstract

Latino farmworkers in North Carolina are a hard-to-reach population that faces diverse occupational health risks, including pesticide exposure. Health and safety education efforts often employ lay health advisor or promotor(a) de salud models in which farmworker community members are trained to provide health education. As a frequently tight-knit and isolated group, farmworkers may be well suited to serve as resident lay health advisors. This paper presents data collected from a nonrandom sample of Latino farmworkers living in North Carolina regarding the natural level of occupational safety information exchange among Latino farmworkers, specifically pesticide safety information. The data affirm that farmworkers informally exchange occupational safety information with one another, with the level of exchange increasing during the agricultural season. Consequently, if trained, the data suggest that farmworkers might be situated to provide in situ occupational health and safety education to their peers. This remains to be systematically tested and evaluated. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Author Keywords

occupational safety Agricultural workers employee health information sharing Latinos

Index Keywords

information processing education methodology human North Carolina Seasons Hispanic Americans Health Information Management season United States Humans Hispanic occupational exposure pesticide medical information system Pesticides Article adult health education migration occupational health Transients and Migrants Data Collection
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84866538452&doi=10.1080%2f1059924X.2012.713830&partnerID=40&md5=27642570997123885c4986d79c2d0914
DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2012.713830
ISSN: 1059924X
Cited by: 5
Original Language: English