218804 Using a community-led intervention to reduce pesticide exposure in farmworker families: Translating research to practice

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 : 3:30 PM - 3:50 PM

Sara A. Quandt, PhD , Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Joseph G. Grzywacz, PhD , Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Ralph d'Agostino Jr., PhD , Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Maria C. Mirabelli, PhD , Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Jennifer W. Talton, MS , Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Grisel Trejo, MPH , Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Rebecca Crain, BA , Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Janeth Tapia , Community Health Research, North Carolina Farmworkers Project, Benson, NC
Thomas A. Arcury, PhD , Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Migrant and seasonal farmworkers and families are exposed to pesticides through occupational and para-occupational pathways. Substantial progress has been made in understanding pesticide exposure, and in creating ways to help farmworkers make their work and home environments safer. Despite these efforts, there have been no large and carefully evaluated demonstration projects to place effective interventions in the public health sphere. This paper describes a pesticide safety demonstration project implemented by a university-community partnership and provides data on outcome analysis. The project is designed to translate an effective intervention to reduce pesticide exposure among families of Latino farmworkers to a broader public health context.

Six public health agencies were recruited by the community partner; each agency appointed a study liaison and up to two promotoras. A total of 600 women in farmworker families with a child ≤12 were recruited; promotoras administered six lessons in the home and recorded data for process evaluation. Evaluation pre- and post-tests were obtained by the university partner.

Over 90% of women were born in Mexico; median education completed was sixth grade. Following participation in the demonstration project, women demonstrated greater recognition of the dangers of pesticides and of pesticide properties. They also reported greater self-efficacy for keeping pesticides out of the home, and protecting themselves and children from exposure.

These results show that public health agencies can recruit and retain large numbers of farmworker women to provide pesticide safety education. The project resulted in substantial increases in knowledge and changes in attitudes toward pesticide safety.

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Occupational health and safety
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the need for conducting demonstration projects of programs with demonstrated effectiveness in research settings 2. Describe a lay health advisor approach to reducing pesticide exposure in farmworker families 3. List the changes in knowledge resulting from exposure to such a program

Keywords: Lay Health Workers, Pesticide Exposure

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a professor of Public Health Sciences. I have conducted research and published in the area of pesticides since 1996. I am the PI of the grant on which this paper reports.
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.