Essential(ly Forgotten) Workers: Latine Youth Farmworkers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2024, v. 67, no. 12: Essential(ly Forgotten) Workers: Latine Youth Farmworkers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• Journal Article:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Personal Author:
  Arnold, Taylor J. ; Morrison, Sharon D. ; Martin Romero, Michelle Y. ; Echeverria, Sandra E. ; Zapata, Sylvia ; Quandt, Sara A. ; Torres-Lara, Fabiola ; Robles Arvizu, Jose A ; Arcury, Thomas A.
• Description:
  Essential workers across multiple industries faced a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effects were especially severe for agricultural and food processing workers, many of whom are members of the structurally vulnerable Latine community. Under current U.S. federal laws, children under 12 years old can legally work in agriculture, one of the most hazardous U.S. industries. Many of these working youth are Latine and experience health and educational inequities.
  
  Using a community-based participatory research approach and a qualitative design, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews in North Carolina in 2022, with service providers in health, education, and advocacy fields (n = 10) and Latine youth farmworkers aged 10-17 (n = 24). We used participatory qualitative analysis methods and a reflexive thematic analysis to understand and describe the work experiences of these youth during the first 2 years of the pandemic.
  
  Amidst precarious economic and school situations exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, many youths described an increased need to work to support their families. While aware and sometimes fearful of the added occupational health risks of COVID-19, youth and their families felt they had few other options. Service providers and youth described minimal employer-provided safety protocols or equipment, yet some workers organized their own attempts at safety protocols. Youth narratives imply limited knowledge of basic workplace safety requirements.
  
  Study findings emphasize the urgent need to address structural vulnerabilities shaping workplace policies and norms to protect Latine youth farmworkers to support their healthy development.
• Content Notes:
  Author manuscript
• Subjects:
  • Humans
  • COVID-19
  • Adolescent
  • Farmers
  • Female
  • Male
  • Child
  • Community-Based Participatory Research
  • Qualitative Research
  • SARS-CoV-2
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Latino/Hispanic
  • youth farmworkers
  • essential workers
  • COVID-19
  • occupational safety and health
  • child labor
  • health equity
  • agricultural health
• Source:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2024, v. 67, no. 12
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.23671
• ISSN:
  0271-3586 ; 1097-0274
• Pubmed ID:
  39404609
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC11804972
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  U54 OH009568/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/ ; CC/CDC HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina
• Pages in Document:
  1121-1134 (24 pdf pages)
• Volume:
  67
• Issue:
  12
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/261982/cdc_261982_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 136.29 KB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c5d48a13c0119cd93fdea28fb6e0bd65437bc5beef2ac1c8472f5a714736f7f7824b82abead5c45eefeb4f697ca70efff4b6ce681d234ea6ceee75cf92e39b4e