Outreach to farmworkers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Summary Outreach is an important element of social care. It is an informal but planned form of on-site service delivery to vulnerable populations. Outreach affects some target populations, such as migrant farmworkers, immensely. Outreach staff demonstrate a unique capacity to navigate remote and hard to -to-reach areas, making contact with farmworkers who would otherwise not receive essential services. This ethnographic study describes how organizations make first contact with farmworkers in normal times, and the changes to outreach observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings Outreach workers connect, interact, and provide services to farmworkers in unique settings and situations. The general components of farmworker outreach are planning, engaging, improvising, and initiating services. During the pandemic, the changes observed were a sense of urgency to serve farmworkers, and adaptations in the modality of outreach to include a focus on health, collaboration with health clinicians, and the use of social media to contact farmworkers. Applications Outreach matters to farmworkers and other groups that are secluded, isolated, and vulnerable to abuse. In crisis times, such as the pandemic, outreach is even more vital. Hence, outreach, including the skills required t o conduct outreach, should form part of social work curriculum. Different models and outreach components should be evaluated to assess whether organizations providing outreach services to target populations deliver results beyond immediate benefits and contribute to structural change and advocacy on behalf of them.

Community health worker outreach to farmworkers in rural North Carolina: Learning from adaptations to the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic

“…Internet‐based platforms, such as WhatsApp and Facebook, emerged as one of the primary forms of maintaining communication and disseminating health information to farmworkers during the pandemic. This finding aligns with limited research on outreach to farmworker communities in other states during this time period 9,21 . Shaver, however, emphasizes that telehealth should be a supplement for health care, not a replacement, 24 and community health workers' plans for future health education and outreach support this belief.…”

“…PPE provision might also have served to mitigate some of the well‐documented chronic health illnesses and structural vulnerabilities experienced among farmworker communities, which can be exacerbated by the virus spread 19,20 . Other studies have also reported that community health workers played critical roles in distributing PPE supplied from government aid packages to farmworkers 9,21 . In addition to a lack of access to PPE, large portions of the Hispanic population in the United States faced food insecurity during the pandemic 22 due to isolation, transportation issues, and economic hardship.…”

“…19,20 Other studies have also reported that community health workers played critical roles in distributing PPE supplied from government aid packages to farmworkers. 9,21 In addition to a lack of access to PPE, large portions of the Hispanic population in the United States faced food insecurity during the pandemic 22 due to isolation, transportation issues, and economic hardship. Porch drops from the community health workers who participated in our study provided needed food and prescriptions to farmworkers who were isolated in rural housing sites.…”

“…8 Additionally, prior research from the field of social work has explored changes in outreach to farmworkers in rural Michigan, finding pauses in in-person outreach, increased use of social media, provision of wi-fi, and use of personal protective equipment (PPE). 9 Other researchers have documented state and interagency coordination efforts 6 and emergency provision of internet access as part of COVID-19 response for farmworkers. 10 Yet, little research has worked with community health workers to bring their voices and descriptions of practice-based 11 innovations from COVID-19 response into the literature.…”

“…Prior reviews have shown the importance of community organizations and outreach in pandemic response 8 . Additionally, prior research from the field of social work has explored changes in outreach to farmworkers in rural Michigan, finding pauses in in‐person outreach, increased use of social media, provision of wi‐fi, and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) 9 . Other researchers have documented state and interagency coordination efforts 6 and emergency provision of internet access as part of COVID‐19 response for farmworkers 10 .…”