Providing Health Information to Latino Farmworkers: The Case of the Affordable Care Act

Abstract

Objective: Providing health program information to vulnerable communities, such as Latino farmworkers, is difficult. This analysis describes the manner in which farmworkers receive information about the Affordable Care Act, comparing farmworkers to other Latinos. Methods: Interviews were conducted with 100 Latino farmworkers and 100 urban Latino North Carolina residents in 2015. Results: Most farmworkers had received health information from a community organization. Trusted sources for health information were health care providers and community organizations. Sources that would influence decisions to enroll were Latino nurses and doctors, religious leaders, and family members. Traditional media, including oral presentation and printed material at the doctor’s office were preferred by the majority of farmworkers and non-farmworkers. Farmworkers used traditional electronic media: radio, television, telephone. More non-farmworkers used current electronic media: e-mail and internet. Conclusions: Latino farmworkers and non-farmworkers prefer traditional media in the context of a health care setting. They are willing to try contemporary electronic media for this information.

Heat-Related Illness Among Latinx Child Farmworkers in North Carolina: A Mixed-Methods Study

“…5 Farmworkers are at an elevated risk for occupational injury and illness, including HRI, due to limited safety regulations, substandard housing conditions, long work hours, limited access to healthcare, social vulnerability due to guest-worker or immigration status, and working during peak summer heat. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Hired Latinx children constitute an especially vulnerable population within the larger farmworker community. 14,15 Findings from research with farmworkers and other outdoor workers are concerning, given the prognosis of higher global temperatures due to climate change.…”

COVID-19 Pandemic among Latinx Farmworker and Nonfarmworker Families in North Carolina: Knowledge, Risk Perceptions, and Preventive Behaviors

“…They also may not be reached by rapidly evolving public health messaging or provision of personal protective equipment intended to provide them with the knowledge and materials needed to protect themselves [ 5 , 9 ]. In the USA, many immigrant workers exist at the poverty threshold and lack health insurance and access to health care [ 10 , 11 ], further diminishing their ability to protect their health in a pandemic [ 3 , 9 ]. Such structural factors have been found to explain the uneven distribution of COVID-19 in the USA population during the pandemic [ 12 ].…”

Engaging Youth Advocates in Community-Based Participatory Research on Child Farmworker Health in North Carolina

“…These approaches are oriented toward social change and emphasize collaboration in a peer-to-peer learning environment; they lead youth to critically assess issues in their community, and include pedagogical tools such as theater, games, and other expressive forms to foster collective action. 20, 21 Over the past 20 years, SAF staff members have been collaborators serving as co-investigators, interns, sub-grantees, and advisory board members on a variety of WFSM CBPR studies related to pesticide exposure and other health issues among adult farmworkers and their families, 22, 23 health communication, 24, 25 and farmworker housing. 26–28 The Hired Child Farmworker Study builds on this existing institutional relationship, as SAF’s Executive Director and Levante director are co-investigators.…”