Public health impact of heat-related illness among migrant farmworkers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Amarnath KK ; Bayakly AR ; Fleischer NL ; Mize T ; Murphy MW ; Sumitani J ; Tiesman, Hope M.
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Migrant farmworkers are at risk for heat-related illness (HRI) at work. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine which risk factors could potentially reduce the prevalence of HRI symptoms among migrant farmworkers in Georgia. METHODS: Trained interviewers conducted in-person interviews of adults who attended the South Georgia Farmworker Health Project clinics in June 2011. The analysis was conducted in 2011-2012. Population intervention models were used to assess where the greatest potential impact could be made to reduce the prevalence of HRI symptoms. RESULTS: In total, 405 farmworkers participated. One third of participants had experienced three or more HRI symptoms in the preceding week. Migrant farmworkers faced barriers to preventing HRI at work, including lack of prevention training (77%) and no access to regular breaks (34%); shade (27%); or medical attention (26%). The models showed that the prevalence of three or more HRI symptoms (n=361, 34.3%) potentially could be reduced by increasing breaks in the shade (-9.2%); increasing access to medical attention (-7.3%); reducing soda intake (-6.7%); or increasing access to regular breaks (-6.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Migrant farmworkers experienced high levels of HRI symptoms and faced substantial barriers to preventing these symptoms. Although data are cross-sectional, results suggest that heat-related illness may be reduced through appropriate training of workers on HRI prevention, as well as regular breaks in shaded areas. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Demography Farmers Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Men Occupational Health Safety Women
• Keywords:
  Agricultural-workers Demographic-characteristics Heat Heat-exhaustion Heat-exposure Heat-stress Heat-stroke Humans Sociological-factors Surveillance Workers

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• ISSN:
  0749-3797
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; Indiana ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  199-206
• Volume:
  44
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20042242
• Citation:
  Am J Prev Med 2013 Mar; 44(3):199-206
• Contact Point Address:
  Nancy L. Fleischer, PhD, University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, 800 Sumter Street, Columbia SC 29208
• Email:
  nfleischer@sc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• NORA Priority Area:
  Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities
• Performing Organization:
  Georgia State Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20100701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Preventive Medicine
• End Date:
  20150630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7bcbb05a9a80357fd5c3b8edf9149ede82b476b9da91f6913898dd403acdac4881ca330b0c08164dc35354bf82168141af49c3517fd498d13cd14a1f3c8e4f99
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194527/cdc_194527_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 276.78 KB ]