174129 Health of Mexican Migrant Farmworkers: Critical elements of social responsibility in grape and vegetable production in Northern Mexico

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Isabel Ortega, PhD , Department of Nutrition, Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo (CIAD), Hermosilo, Mexico
Patricia Arranda, PhD , Department of Health and Society, Colegio de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico
Jill Guernsey De Zapien , Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Antonio Zapien, PhD , College of Agriculture, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Samantha Sabo, MPH , Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Cecilia Rosales, MD, MS , Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Alma Delia Contreras Paniagua , Department of Nutrition, Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo (CIAD), Hermosilo, Mexico
Griselda Guadelupe Franco P. , Department of Health and Society, Colegio de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico
Sonia Ramirez Medina , Department of Nutrition, Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo (CIAD), Hermosilo, Mexico
Lucia Mercedes Rosas Coronado , Department of Health and Society, Colegio de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico
Of the four million migrant farmworkers in Mexico, an estimated 80 thousand are contracted by one of 300 agri-businesses located in 4 specific regions of Sonora, Mexico. The majority of farmworkers come via contractor from as far away as Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Veracuz and Puebla. In 2006, a Sonora-Arizona, binational, interdisciplinary working group was formed to focus on the health and development issues facing these migrant farm workers and their families. The binational working group explored four complementary research components to provide a composite picture of the critical elements in the development and implementation of a model of social responsibility in Sonoran agro production. Research is based on a previous five year study of the region and focuses on grape and vegetable producers exporting to US, Europe and Asia. This triangulation study involved Sonoran agribusiness owners; public and private frontline health care workers and migrant farm workers. The presenter will discuss qualitative results from in-depth interviews with private and public health care providers and semi-structured interviews with migrant farm workers about their experiences with health care practice, utilization and challenges to access among migrant farmworkers. Results from semi structured interviews with agro business owners will offer insight into the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about elements of socially responsible agro production and the agro producer's response to the viability of such a model in Northern Mexico. Strategies to engage early adopters in critical elements in socially responsive agro production will also be introduced.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the response among health care providers and migrant farm workers about health care practice, utilization and challenges to access among migrant farmworker in Sonora, Mexico. 2. Explore the Sonoran agro business knowledge, attitude and beliefs about a socially responsibility in agro production and the elements that currently exist.

Keywords: Migrant Farm Workers, Access and Services

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been a co investigator in this research project since it's inception and continue to collect,analyze and disseminate results of this project.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.