Ethical Issues in Conducting Migrant Farmworker Studies

Abstract

Migrant farmworkers should be considered a vulnerable population because they work in a hazardous industry, are often members of an ethnic minority, have known difficulty in accessing health care, and are often of lower socioeconomic status. For these reasons, too, it is extremely important to conduct health-related research with this often-underserved group. However, because migrant farmworkers are vulnerable, investigators must be especially vigilant in protecting them from the potential harms of research and in ensuring that the special ethical issues that arise in research with this population are identified and addressed for every project. In response to the National Cancer Institute's concerns about the feasibility of conducting epidemiologic studies among migrant farmworkers, researchers undertook four feasibility studies near the Texas-Mexico border. Each study raised different, complex ethical questions that challenged the investigators, but whose resolution turned out to be crucial to the success of the studies.

Recruitment, Methods, and Descriptive Results of a Physiologic Assessment of Latino Farmworkers

“…Between one-third and 2/3 of farmworkers are thought to be unauthorized (5). For the same reasons that immigrant farmworkers are hard to enumerate, they often present a variety of methodological and cultural challenges that reduce their participation in physiological and epidemiological studies (19). Because of their immigration status, they are likely to have a distrust of government and anyone related with government (including researchers) and are reluctant to participate in studies that would require revealing personal information (20, 21).…”

Issues in Biomedical Research: What Do Hispanics Think?

“…7,8 The Belmont Report summarizes basic ethical principles that should be adhered to in human participant trials. 9 Cultural nuances may inherently contradict the beliefs behind the Belmont Report, such as individual’s sense of autonomy and confidentiality.…”

“…9 Cultural nuances may inherently contradict the beliefs behind the Belmont Report, such as individual’s sense of autonomy and confidentiality. The importance of family, lack of individualism, and respect for authority, which are common within Hispanic cultures, 7 are factors that might also undermine research standards set by the Belmont Report. Medical decisions, including participation in a biomedical research study, may require the approval of a family elder or community leader; thus, for Hispanic participants, inclusion of family or community leaders may need to be considered as part of the process of informed consent.…”

“…Additionally, many Hispanic communities have a sensitivity to class and occupation that may limit the sense of freedom to make an informed decision. 7 Research staff members may be perceived as persons of authority; thus, the individual may agree to participate because of the position of the person making the request, rather than the individual’s own desire to participate. Finally, the low levels of income found in many Hispanic communities may make even small monetary compensations a form of coercion compromising participant autonomy.…”

Health Perceptions of Low-Income, Immigrant Spanish-Speaking Latinas in the United States

“…No distinction was made between documented and nondocumented residents. Because some feared using signatures, women were informed they could use whatever name they chose for the consent form and when participating in the focus group (Cooper et al, 2004).…”