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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Louise Ward, PhD CRNP, College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, 1505 Race St., Mail Stop 501, Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215.762.1240, lsw26@drexel.edu

It is well accepted that adequate sleep is important for optimal social and physical functioning. Migrant farmworkers are at risk for many barriers to sufficient sleep, including crowded living conditions, noise, inadequate beds, pain, and stress. This research explored psychosocial variables and health-related quality of life measures in a convenience sample of farmworkers in the Delaware Valley, northeastern U.S. Bilingual interviewers surveyed volunteer farmworkers (n = 80) after working hours in common areas of labor camps and in living rooms of rented homes. The Healthy Days measure (CDC), the SF-36 (short form of the Medical Outcomes Survey), and the Migrant Farmworker Stress Inventory (MFWSI) were administered orally in on-to-one interviews.

Findings indicate that a higher number of sleep-poor days was associated with poorer mental and physical health in this sample. Using the subscales of the SF-36, poorer sleep was associated with decreased vitality, decreased physical functioning, poorer physical and emotional role performance, and bodily pain. Psychosocial correlates of poor sleep included the specific stressors of being away from family and friends, as well as the more global measure of stress as indicated by the MFWSI.

Farmworkers are a population with so many barriers to good health that isolating just one is sometimes difficult. Nevertheless, impaired sleep patterns should be added to the list of factors that predispose this population to poorer mental and physical health. Labor camp housing and sleeping environments should be considered when assessing factors that affect migrant farmworker health.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participants will be able to

1. List at least five (
• factors associated with impaired sleep in this sample of migrant farmworkers. 2. Discuss possible mechanisms for these associated factors’ relationship to poorer sleep. 3. Describe implications of this research for clinical nursing practice.

Keywords: Migrant Farm Workers, Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation