Knowledge and Practices to Avoid Heat-Related Illness among Hispanic Farmworkers along the Florida-Georgia Line

Luque, John S.; Becker, Alan; Bossak, Brian H.; Grzywacz, Joseph G.; Tovar-Aguilar, J. Antonio; Guo, Yian

doi:10.1080/1059924x.2019.1670312

Cited by 18 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Another Georgia study in 2019 reports that 28 percent of 101 farmworkers experienced one or more HRI symptoms in the last week. 22 A 2013 study in Oregon of one hundred farmworkers found that 64 percent experienced one HRI symptom and 11 percent experience three or more symptoms in the previous work week. 17 Similar to the present study, other studies that measured HRI prevention strategies found that the great majority of workers drink more water when working in hot weather.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Forty-three percent of child farmworkers who completed the survey interview reported changing work hours, compared with 25 to 30 percent in the other North Carolina studies 9,20 and 21 to 63 percent in the Georgia studies. 18,22 The in-depth interviews elicited that child workers generally had the ability to leave work early in extreme temperatures, but it largely depended on the crew-leader or grower and whether or not their adult coworkers came to a consensus. Fewer child farmworkers (10.9 percent) reported changing work tasks, compared with 20 to 30 percent in the other North Carolina studies, 9,20 and 23 to 64 percent in the Georgia studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fewer child farmworkers (10.9 percent) reported changing work tasks, compared with 20 to 30 percent in the other North Carolina studies, 9,20 and 23 to 64 percent in the Georgia studies. 18,22 This may demonstrate that child workers have less control over their work environment. 37 Most work in harvesting, for which there are few alternative tasks available.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The majority of workers in the present and other North Carolina studies reported taking rest breaks in shaded areas (73%-88%), 9,20 while the Georgia studies found that only 20 to 23 percent reported taking breaks in the shade. 18,22 Children who completed in-depth interviews described taking breaks in the shade, but it appears that employers rarely provided shade structures and sometimes participants needed to improvise. For example, a few described sitting under tobacco leaves or blueberry plants for shade or that access to shade depended on whether the fields were located near trees.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Oregon, and California has documented high prevalence of HRI and other heat-related conditions among farmworkers. 9,13,[17][18][19][20][21][22] In addition to the health risks of HRI, recent reviews observed increased occupational injury risk in high temperatures among young workers, male workers, and agricultural workers. 23,24 The percent of farmworkers who are women has increased substantially since 2001, [25][26][27] and research is documenting factors related to HRI among women workers.…”

Section: Heat-related Illness and Farmworkersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

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Children as young as ten are legally hired for farm work. In North Carolina, many of these hired children are Latinx; they often work long hours during hot and humid summer conditions. Heat-related illness occurs along a continuum of severity ranging from heat cramps and rashes to heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which can be fatal. The literature on the negative health effects of occupational heat exposure is growing; however, few studies have examined this exposure and health outcomes among child agricultural workers. To understand Latinx child farmworkers’ experiences of working in heat, we conducted in-depth interviews (n = 30). To estimate the prevalence of heat-related illness symptoms and associated factors, we conducted survey interviews (n = 165). Heat-related illness is common among these child farmworkers. While children often understand the dangers of working in heat, work organization often prevents their taking precautions. Formal workplace protections to prevent heat-related illness are limited.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Heat-related Illness and Farmworkersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

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Impact of occupational heat stress on worker productivity and economic cost

Morrissey

Brewer

Williams

et al. 2021

American J Industrial Med

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Heat stress is a growing concern in the occupational setting as it endangers worker health, safety, and productivity. Heat-related reductions in physical work capacity and missed workdays directly and indirectly cause productivity losses and may substantially affect the economic wellbeing of the organization. This review highlights the physiological, physical, psychological, and financial harms of heat stress on worker productivity and proposes strategies to quantify heat-related productivity losses. Heat stress produces a vicious-cycle feedback loop that result in adverse outcomes on worker health, safety, and productivity. We propose a theoretical model for implementing an occupational heat safety plan that disrupts this loop, preventing heat-related productivity losses while improving worker health and safety.

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US Farmworkers’ Barriers to Preventing Heat‐Related Illness: An Integrative Review

Edgerly,

Gillespie,

Hittle

et al. 2024

Public Health Challenges

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BackgroundOccupational heat‐related illness (HRI) is problematic in the United States. Farmworkers are disproportionately affected by HRI compared to other workers. Uncovering barriers that farmworkers face to the prevention of HRI is crucial to reducing HRI‐associated morbidity and mortality. This integrative review aimed to understand US farmworkers’ barriers to preventing HRI.MethodsAn integrative review occurred following Whittemore and Knafl guidelines. Literature searches occurred on PubMed, Medline, and Agricola. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria and removing duplicates, nine articles remained for review.ResultsThere were nine articles in the review. The majority of articles used a convenience sample. In all studies, the populations were farmworkers or agricultural workers. The study designs included cross‐sectional, mixed methods, qualitative focus groups, and a longitudinal study. The articles revealed several themes related to prevention barriers: access to prevention, education and training, work culture, and compensation. Farmworkers often lack access to proper prevention measures, education, and training. Work culture and compensation were obstacles to preventing HRI as some workers feel powerless to speak up for themselves, whereas others are tempted to forgo breaks because of the way they are compensated.ConclusionsThis review indicates the need for more research to understand the barriers farmworkers face to HRI prevention. Providing prevention measures without considering obstacles to their use is ineffective in reducing HRI. Because many farmworkers lack oversight and regulation of prevention measures, focusing on barriers and areas over which farmworkers have more control could have a significant impact.

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Knowledge and Practices to Avoid Heat-Related Illness among Hispanic Farmworkers along the Florida-Georgia Line

Cited by 18 publications

References 22 publications

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

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

Impact of occupational heat stress on worker productivity and economic cost

US Farmworkers’ Barriers to Preventing Heat‐Related Illness: An Integrative Review

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