Hispanic Farmworker Interpretations of Green Tobacco Sickness

Details

• Personal Author:
  Arcury TA ; Quandt SA ; Rao P
• Description:
  This paper describes the explanatory model of green tobacco sickness (GTS) held by migrant and seasonal farmworkers in North Carolina and compares it with a research-based biobehavioral model. GTS is a form of acute nicotine poisoning that affects individuals who work in wet tobacco fields. It is characterized by nausea, vomiting, headache, and dizziness. There are no standard diagnostic criteria for GTS; clinicians must diagnose it based on a combination of symptoms and exposure risk. GTS resembles pesticide poisoning, but treatment is quite different. Many farmworkers in tobacco today are Spanish-speaking immigrants from Mexico with limited experience in tobacco work. In-depth interviews about GTS were conducted with 23 Hispanic farmworkers in central North Carolina to explore their understanding of the problem. Workers generally attributed the symptoms to other aspects of working in tobacco, such as pesticides or heat, rather than nicotine. They cited many of the same risk factors identified in the biobehavioral model, such as wet work conditions and inexperience with tobacco work. Prevention and treatment include a combination of exposure avoidance and common medications. The symptoms of most importance to farmworkers were insomnia and anorexia, both of which impaired the ability to work. This jeopardized their income, as well as their work security. If health care providers understand the explanatory model held by farmworkers, they will be more effective at diagnosing and treating GTS and be better prepared to teach patients how to prevent future episodes. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Demography Farmers Occupational Diseases Occupational Health Race Factors Safety Safety Management Tobacco Products Workplace
• Keywords:
  Agricultural-industry Agricultural-workers Demographic-characteristics Etiology Injuries Models Occupational-diseases Occupational-health Qualitative-analysis Racial-factors Safety-measures Safety-practices Tobacco Tobacco-industry Work-environment Worker-health Workers

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• ISSN:
  0890-765X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  18
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20029566
• Citation:
  J Rural Health 2002 Sep; 18(4):503-511
• Contact Point Address:
  P. Rao, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
• Email:
  prao@wfubmc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• NORA Priority Area:
  Work Environment And Workforce: Special Populations
• Performing Organization:
  Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19980930
• Source Full Name:
  The Journal of Rural Health
• End Date:
  20020929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c7b065083b346333b0f74e99d48806994f310c4ada3482f09cb47f74fb50fda9c45336269e6af02dd65eecbdcea8bee960de745595e7a1fcd63522ea9359b798
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/190516/cdc_190516_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 982.07 KB ]