Health care research on migrant farm worker children: why has it not had a higher priority?

Abstract

The article by Weathers and her coinvestigators in this issue titled “Health Services Use by Children of Migratory Agricultural Workers: Exploring the Role of Need for Care”1 is only the fourth article published on the health care of migrant farm worker families in Pediatrics since 1948, excluding policy statements by the Committee on Community Health Services.2,3 During the past 54 years the only clinical or health services research on children of farm workers published in Pediatrics included 1 article in 1972 and another in 1974 on lead exposure and toxicity.4,5 A third article, published in 1962, did not report findings of a research study but called on medical schools and pediatricians to become more actively involved in the study of the health problems of migrant farm worker children.6 The small number of publications describing clinical and health services research related to migrant farm worker children in Pediatrics is consistent with the experience of other peer-reviewed journals and is a reflection of the very limited number of research studies that have been conducted in this high-risk vulnerable population. As referenced in the Weathers article, a 1998 Institute of Medicine report highlighted this concern by stating that there is “a glaring and significant gap in the scientific literature” for research on children of migrant farm workers, especially undocumented workers.7 In setting research priorities, funders usually consider the magnitude of the problem, the ability of the research to contribute to better health outcomes through improvements in care and/or better health policy, and a sense of fairness or social justice … Address correspondence to Steve Berman, MD, Children’s Hospital 1056 E 19th Ave, B032 Denver, CO 80218. E-mail: berman.stephen{at}tchden.org