Abstract
Mexican migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the US-Mexico border region face health hazards and occupational risks and are becoming commonly known in the public health literature. According to several studies, farmworkers have high levels of chronic diseases such as diabetes and respiratory problems, are at risk for infectious diseases, and experience among the highest incidences of work-related injuries of any profession. The findings from two studies are considered and presented with the objective of contributing to an overall understanding of migrant farmworkers as a workforce moving across national boundaries and affected by the work environments and health stressors both shared and unique to each context. We propose a binational approach to comprehensively address the health problems and socioeconomic challenges faced by migrant and seasonal farmworkers. In this paper we present the results of two distinct but complementary studies of farmworker health on the Arizona-Sonora border.
Highlights
The health hazards and occupational risks faced by Mexican migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the US-Mexico border region are becoming commonly known in the public health literature
This US based study was a cross-sectional, population based survey conducted from August 2006 to February 2007 using a randomized proportionately representative household sample of farmworkers in the three communities of Somerton, Gadsden, and San Luis located along the US Mexico border in southern Yuma County, Arizona
Most were from the poorest states such as Chiapas, Veracruz, Puebla and Guerrero, according to the human development index (HDI) [18] in these communities, being 0.7336, 0.7754, 0.7929, 0.7513 respectively, compared to a national HDI mean of 0.8031
Summary
The health hazards and occupational risks faced by Mexican migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the US-Mexico border region are becoming commonly known in the public health literature. On the US side of the border, factors documented as contributing to these health problems include labor-intensive nature of the work, poor diet, pesticide exposure, lack of access to preventive health care and treatment, and poor living conditions [2,3]. Dangerous and unjust working conditions of migrant farmworkers (jornaleros agrícolas) in northern Mexico who earn salaries seven to nine times less than those in the United States cause even greater health risks for this population [7]. In both countries farmworkers are marginalized from basic services such as health care
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