American Journal of Industrial Medicine
Volume 53, Issue 4, 2010, Pages 387-397

The health of California's immigrant hired farmworkers (Article)

Villarejo D.* , McCurdy S.A. , Bade B. , Samuels S. , Lighthall D. , Williams III D.
  • a California Institute for Rural Studies, Davis, CA, United States
  • b Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
  • c College of Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies, California State University, San Marcos, CA, United States
  • d Department of Statistics, State University of NewYork, Albany, NY, United States
  • e San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, Fresno, CA, United States
  • f GIC Group, Alexandria, VA, United States, California Institute for Rural Studies Inc., Davis CA, United States

Abstract

Background: Hispanic immigrant workers dominate California's hired farm workforce. Little is known about their health status; even less is known about those lacking employment authorization. Methods: The California Agricultural Workers Health Survey (CAWHS) was a statewide cross-sectional household survey conducted in 1999. Six hundred fifty-four workers completed in-person interviews, comprehensive physical examinations, and personal risk behavior interviews. Results: The CAWHS PE Sample is comprised mostly of young Mexican men who lack health insurance and present elevated prevalence of indicators of chronic disease: overweight, obesity, high blood pressure, and high serum cholesterol. The self-reported, cumulative, farm work career incidence of paid claims for occupational injury under workers compensation was 27% for males and 11% for females. Conclusions The survey finds elevated prevalence of indicators of chronic disease but lack of health care access. Participants without employment authorization reported a greater prevalence of high-risk behaviors, such as binge drinking, and were less knowledgeable about workplace protections. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:387-397, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Author Keywords

immigrants Hired workers Agricultural safety Farm labor Injury

Index Keywords

Wounds and Injuries human injury middle aged statistics Agriculture health status Health Surveys chronic disease Mexico family size ethnology Family Characteristics Cross-Sectional Studies interview United States cross-sectional study Humans California Interviews as Topic male female occupational exposure Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics prevalence Article high risk behavior Risk-Taking adult migration occupational health Transients and Migrants Health Services Accessibility health care delivery health survey
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-77949836304&doi=10.1002%2fajim.20796&partnerID=40&md5=4868fdab3fcf2689a9c0fd2dcb49a1b5
DOI: 10.1002/ajim.20796
ISSN: 02713586
Cited by: 60
Original Language: English