Co-creating research methods with indigenous farmworkers

To identify the occupational health and safety priorities of indigenous farmworkers from Mexico working in labor intensive crops in Oregon, indigenous and non-indigenous farmworkers participated in six focus groups and 150 baseline surveys. This community based participatory project funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the first concentrated effort in the Pacific Northwest to gather in-depth information on occupational related health and safety conditions from indigenous farmworkers. Project partners include representatives and indigenous-speaking staff from the Oregon Law Center, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), Salud Medical Center, Portland State University, and Farmworker Justice. Through leadership of indigenous project partners who were formerly farmworkers, project partners worked collaboratively to co-create the data collection instruments and protocol, including recruitment efforts, to co-analyze the data, and report results back to the farmworker communities.

The presentation is an overview of processes used to engage indigenous communities in identifying the priorities for improvement in safety and living conditions for a growing but underserved community in Oregon. The preliminary results reveal significant differences between indigenous and non-indigenous farmworkers' self reported occupational health and safety needs and current policy and practices. We will also offer suggestions for strengthening current policies and practices to protect the occupational health and safety of all farmworkers.