Community Health Workers Building a Model of Social Responsibility with Large Agricultural Growers in Mexico

An assessment of migrant farmworkers who migrate from Southern Mexico to work in large agricultural fruit and vegetable farms in northern Mexico revealed limited access to preventive health services and health care services, to a healthy and nutritious diet, to decent living and working conditions and to conditions of overall wellness. This presentation will discuss a binational collaborative of the Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo A.C., el Colegio de Sonora, and the College of Public Health at the University of Arizona utilizing community health workers to build the concept of social responsibility among large agricultural growers in northern Mexico. We will examine a case study of collaboration with a large agricultural grower to identify and improve specific living and working conditions and to establish and sustain a community health worker program among the settled out farmworkers in the region. The process of the development and implementation of the community health worker program utilized to build capacity will be discussed including those occupational health and general health issues that are the focus of the program. We will also discuss the process for identifying structural areas in need of improvement. The outcomes, impacts and sustainability of the program with workers and management will be examined as well as lessons learned regarding collaboration with both workers and management.