Community-based occupational health interventions for Northeastern farmworkers: Employers as part of the community

Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

3056.0: Monday, November 05, 2007 - 9:18 AM

Abstract #152393

Community-based occupational health interventions for Northeastern farmworkers: Employers as part of the community

John J. May, MD¹, Lynae Ann Hawkes, BA¹, Amanda Jones, BA¹, Barbara Ginley, MPH², Blanca Santiago, BA², Alison DuBois, MPH³, and Marilyn Carrasquillo³. (1) The NY Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health, Bassett Healthcare, One Atwell Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326, 607-547-6023, lhawkes@nycamh.com, (2) Maine Migrant Health Program, P.O. Box 405, Augusta, ME 04332, (3) Hudson River HealthCare, 1200 Brown St, 4th Floor, Peekskill, NY 10566

The Community Coalitions for Farmworker Health is a NIOSH-funded Environmental Justice project that addresses problems of people working in two separate commodities in two geographically separate regions of the Northeast. In Orange County, NY, NYCAMH collaborates with HRHC and other community groups in a project aimed at reducing eye irritation among vegetable workers. Musculoskeletal pain in Washington County, ME blueberry rakers is the focus of a MMHP – NYCAMH collaboration. The structure of both programs is similar, relying upon a community-based “work team” to assess and prioritize problems, review and select interventions, assist with testing and evaluation of interventions, and advise on appropriate dissemination of successful interventions. An unusual aspect of these community work teams is the inclusion of farm employers along with hired workers, medical advisors and representatives of interested agencies. The inclusion of employers adds a level of complexity to the interactions and may influence the designation of the priority areas to be targeted by the project. At the same time, employers participation in the project also means that: decision makers are present in the planning from the beginning; commitments for participation in trials and planning sessions can be made immediately; financial support for trials may be forthcoming; previously marginal relationships between growers and migrant programs may be considerably strengthened and access to groups of workers and work processes is significantly enhanced. (NIOSH grant #R25 OH008144-03)

Learning Objectives:

· Examine the structure of one type of community-based effort
· Explore how this model functions in addressing two different problems in two separate regions
· Note the advantages and disadvantages encountered by including farm employers in each of these different situations.

Keywords: Migrant Farm Workers, Occupational Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Occupational Health Disparities Institute: Environmental Justice for Immigrant Workers: Research Methods to Promote Public Health

The 135th APHA Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 3-7, 2007) of APHA