The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #53868

Genevieve F. Dunton, MA and Elaine Vaughan, PhD. Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Social Ecology Bldg I, Rm 209, Irvine, CA 92697, 949-823-1838, gdunton@uci.edu

Despite information about the link between pesticide exposure and negative health outcomes, hundreds of thousands of agricultural laborers suffer from pesticide-related ailments each season. For the most part, these diseases can be prevented through self-initiated behaviors such as wearing protective gear and washing residue from clothing. Using the Precaution Adoption Process (PAP) as a model, this study examined how varying levels of occupational dependency on farmwork may indirectly affect self-protective behavior in a sample of 386 immigrant agricultural workers in California. Initial analyses revealed that 32.9% of the workers had no knowledge of self-protective methods and 50.8% never used any methods of protection from pesticides. Occupational dependency on farmwork was negatively associated protection knowledge (b = -.57, p < .001), pesticide information (b = -.38, p < .001), pesticide exposure (b = -.13, p < .05) and perceived effectiveness of precautionary methods (b = -.18, p < .05). Consequently, occupational dependency on farmwork was indirectly related to self-protective behavior (b = -.42, p < .05). The final structural equation model had reasonably good fit, Satorra-Bentler c²(82, N =386) = 119.95, p <.001, comparative fit index (CFI) = .947. These findings suggest that laborers who are more financially and occupationally dependent on farmwork may have a higher risk for pesticide-related disease than laborers who have other employment options. Educational and policy efforts to promote self-protective behaviors in this population should focus on providing basic information about pesticide risks, boosting laborers’ confidence in effectiveness of precautionary measures, and creating a compensation structure that emphasizes safety over productivity.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the role of contextual factors in immigrant farmworkers’ self-protective behaviors.
• Evaluate the Precaution Adoption Process in terms of its applicability to economically disadvantaged populations.
• Identify methods by which educational and policy related efforts could be tailored to promote self-protective behavior in this population.

Keywords: Behavior Based Safety, Migrant Workers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.