Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in the United States. Farmworkers, including migrant farmworkers, are at risk for work-related injuries. This study explores the association between stress, depression, and occupational injury among migrant farmworkers in Nebraska. Occupational injury was hypothesized to significantly increase the odds of farmworkers being stressed and depressed. Two hundred migrant farmworkers (mean age = 33.5 years, standard deviation (SD) = 12.53; 93.0% men, 92.9% of Mexican descent) were interviewed. In bivariate analyses, results indicated that stress and depression were positively associated with occupational injury. Two logistic regression models were developed. Occupational injury was a significant factor for depression, but not for stress. Participants who had been injured on the job were over seven times more likely to be depressed. These results highlight the interconnection between the work environment and mental health. More must be done to foster well-being in rural, agricultural communities. Improving occupational health and safety information and training, integrating behavioral health services into primary care settings, and strengthening the protections of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act may improve conditions for migrant farmworkers in the rural Midwest.

Introduction The marketing expenditure and sale of e-cigarettes increased sharply in the United States in recent years. However, little is known about neighborhood characteristics of point-of-sale (POS) e-cigarette advertising among tobacco stores. The purpose of this study was to examine socio-demographic characteristics of POS e-cigarette advertising among tobacco stores in the Omaha metropolitan area of Nebraska, USA. Methods Between April – June 2014, trained fieldworkers completed marketing audits of all stores that sell tobacco (n=463) in the Omaha metropolitan area and collected comprehensive e-cigarette advertising data of these stores. Based on the auditing information, we categorized tobacco stores based on e-cigarette advertising status. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between neighborhood socio-demographic factors and e-cigarette advertising among tobacco stores. Results 251 (54.2%) of the 463 tobacco stores had e-cigarette advertisements. We found that neighborhoods of stores with POS e-cigarette advertising had higher per capita income (p<0.05), higher percentage of non-Hispanic Whites (p<0.005), and higher percentage of individuals with high school education (p<0.005) than neighborhoods of stores without POS e-cigarette advertising. There were negative associations between e-cigarette advertising and number of adolescents or number of middle/high school students. After adjusting for covariates, only percentage of non-Hispanic Whites remained a significant factor for e-cigarette advertising. Conclusions POS e-cigarette advertising among tobacco stores is related with neighborhood socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Future studies are needed to understand how these characteristics are related with e-cigarette purchasing and e-cigarette prevalence among social groups.

Alcohol is a significant issue among the Latino farmworker population. This study used cross-sectional data from the Nebraska Migrant Farmworker Health Study, 2016 (N = 241) to (1) describe drinking behavior, (2) evaluate associations between alcohol consumption and negative consequences from alcohol use and various social and demographic variables, and (3) assess contextual and interpersonal predictors of alcohol consumption and negative consequences from alcohol use. Descriptive, bivariate statistics and hierarchical multiple regression were used. Results indicated that over 30% of participants had engaged in heavy drinking in the last year. Alcohol consumption was significantly positively associated with negative consequences of alcohol use and significantly negatively associated with work safety climate and age. Negative consequences from alcohol use was significantly negatively associated with work safety climate. Significant predictors of alcohol consumption included work safety climate and age. Being married or in a relationship, alcohol consumption, and work safety climate were significant predictors of negative consequences from alcohol use. This study highlights the potential positive spillover effect of work safety climate on worker drinking behaviors. Implications and recommendations for agricultural employers, farmworker health advocates, and social service agencies are discussed.

By developing community-based health education programs for Latinas with Latinas through a community-engaged co-creation process, organizations and communities build trust, enhance community capacity, and meet identified needs for education and service. Design thinking is a valuable tool that can be used to develop community health education initiatives and enhance civic participation. This method holds promise for health education and public health in becoming more relevant for traditionally marginalized or disenfranchised populations.