MICASA: Farm Worker Family Cohort Study Final Technical Report

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bennett D ; Butler L ; Matias S ; McCurdy S ; Schenker M ; Stoecklin-Marois M ; Tancredi D
• Description:
  Hired farm workers provide the majority of the workforce for California's labor-intensive agricultural sector, and they also suffer the greatest health burden. California's hired farm workers face increased risks of morbidity and mortality from respiratory disease, musculoskeletal problems, infectious diseases, stress-related mental health disorders and lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity. There has been very little research into the etiology of the poor health outcomes that occur disproportionately in this population. The overall goal of this project was to continue with a longitudinal follow-up of a cohort of hired farm worker families in California that was established through supplemental funding from NIOSH. This research characterizes the demographic picture and a wide range of health behaviors and outcomes in a representative sample of immigrant farmworkers in California. The population is young and of Latin American origin. Overall income is low, as is educational level. Agricultural work was common among adolescents in the population and was associated with lower level of acculturation. Overall cigarette smoking frequency was low, but the frequency increased among women with increased level of acculturation. Low-level smoking (less than 5 cigarettes per day) was common in this population. Low-level smokers were more likely to be single and to experience frequent mental distress. Self-reported mental symptoms (depression, nervios) were common in the population and were associated with workplace injuries. Higher acculturation level was associated with higher level of dietary fat intake and being born in Latin America was associated with more fruit and vegetable intake. Dental care levels were poor, with the majority not having dental insurance and almost half having untreated caries. The study evaluated many illness and injury outcomes from agricultural work. For example, the use of personal protective equipment was uncommon except for work with pesticides. Chronic hip pain was associated with frequent stooping/bending at work, and with long hours of tractor driving. Most subjects had received training about heat illness at work, but knowledge about acclimatization was low and reported water intake was below recommendations for all subjects. Women were noted to drink less water at work than were men. Measurements of dust exposure showed high levels of inhalable particles, with levels varying by different crops. Pesticide residues were measured inside the houses of the study subjects. Permethrins, a type of pesticide, were detected in over half the households, which is similar to what has been found in other rural farmworker communities, but other pesticides were detected. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Behavior Body Weight Demography Dust Family Farmers Insecticides Mental Health Morbidity Mortality Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Race Factors Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety

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• Keywords:
  Behavior-patterns Body-weight Demographic-characteristics Diseases Dust-exposure Dust-particles Dusts Etiology Exposure-levels Families Mental-health Morbidity-rates Mortality-rates Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Pesticides Racial-factors Respiratory-infections Risk-factors Sociological-factors Stress Weight-factors

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• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-32
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046400
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2015-105639
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R01-OH-009293, 2014 Jun; :1-32
• Contact Point Address:
  MICASA. Marc Schenker, MD, MPH. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-8638
• Email:
  mbschenker@phs.ucdavis.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of California - Davis
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20080401
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20140331
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:891a30291dae5eaf8638d5240a50f3d1f38c64a4889f13def1f24f6fd77d88b05708ca277ee5e11a551b29d0501ee3f7c3885c40e3d2688c410a3804371cb55c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218602/cdc_218602_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.48 MB ]