Recruiting a community sample in collaboration with farmworkers.

Abstract

Few studies have examined health effects of pesticides in farmworkers, possibly because researchers perceive this population to be relatively inaccessible. We conducted an epidemiologic study of health effects among farmworkers in two towns in central Florida--Apopka and Pierson. Apopka is a suburb of Orlando with a diffuse farmworker community working in many crops, whereas Pierson is a small rural town with a tightly knit farmworker community working mainly in ferns. We collaborated with the Farmworker Association of Florida, a grassroots organization representing 6,700 farmworker families. We identified potential participants using membership lists of the Community Trust Federal Credit Union. Members of the Farmworker Association served as recruiters for the study, locating randomly selected Credit Union members and administering a screening interview to determine eligibility. In Apopka 90% of contacted workers were screened, and 79% of eligible workers participated in the study; corresponding proportions in Pierson were 94 and 85%. Farmworkers who had worked for 6-15 years and those who worked in a defined type of agriculture (nursery, citrus, or ferns) were more likely to enroll than others. Thus, while the response rate was good for a multistage recruiting process, study participants had a slightly different work history from those who chose not to enroll. We conclude that it is possible to conduct a study of health outcomes in farmworkers with a defined population and good response rates. Collaboration with the community is essential to the success of such a project, and community characteristics can affect response rates.

Neurobehavioral performance and work experience in Florida farmworkers.

“…We conducted a cross-sectional study in central Florida in 1996Florida in -1997. Study participants were recruited in collaboration with the Farmworkers Association of Florida, a farmworker advocacy group (Kamel et al 2001). Our target population was members of the Community Trust Federal Credit Union and their spouses.…”

“…It is affiliated with several community organizations, including the Farmworkers Association; many but not all of its members are farmworkers. Credit Union members were typical members of the local communities (Kamel et al 2001).…”

Farmworker pesticide exposure and community-based participatory research: rationale and practical applications.

“…Kamel et al (74) focus their discussion on the importance of community collaboration to identifying and recruiting a valid sample for an epidemiologic survey. Working with the Farmworker Association of Florida, and relying on the association members' expertise in knowing how to locate farmworkers in their region, the investigators were able to obtain a representative sample with an adequate response rate.…”

“…Learning from community members is not simply a means of showing respect for the community; it can show the researcher important variables or characteristics not previously considered. For example, the epidemiologic survey of Kamel et al (74) succeeded because community members knew how to locate individuals selected to be in the sample. The discussion by Quandt et al (72) of the PACE (Preventing Agricultural Chemical Exposure) project indicated they used several modes (in-depth interviews, community forums) to learn from the community.…”

“…However, innovation can improve the application of quantitative methods as well. As Kamel et al (74) noted in their epidemiologic study of neurologic outcomes among Florida farmworkers, community-based organization resources (credit union membership lists and using community members to locate selected respondents) were engaged to accumulate the sample. Using these resources produced the high response rate that this study enjoyed.…”