Managing the Distress of Migrant Farmworkers: Lessons Learned From the Midwestern United States
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3986/2024.2.07Abstract
In a labor-intensive sector such as agriculture, safety and health-related risks are high. They are particularly pronounced for migrant farmworkers, and various health-related programs tailored to their particular needs have been developed. Twenty semi-structured interviews with health and safety professionals and researchers working on these issues in four US federal states show that the most important issues affecting this group are insecure or undocumented legal status, poor working and living conditions, and inadequate access to support services. The importance of building “communities of migrant farmworkers” and direct engagement with this group was emphasized.
Downloads
References
Bloss, J. E., LePrevost, C. E., Zahra, A. G., Firnhaber, G. C., Cofie, L. E., Zepeda, R., & Lee, J. G. L. (2022). Advancing the Health of Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers in the United States: Identifying Gaps in the Existing Literature, 2021. Health Promotion Practice, 23(3), 432–444. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399211033308
Bronfman, M. N., Leyva, R., Negroni, M. J., & Rueda, C. M. (2002). Mobile populations and HIV/AIDS in Central America and Mexico: research for action. AIDS, 16(3), S42–S49. https://doi.org/10.1097/00002030-200212003-00007
Carrasquillo, N. (2011). Race and Ethnicity from the Point of View of Farm Workers in the Food System. Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts, 5(1), 121–131.
Carruth, L., Martinez, C., Smith, L., Donato, K., Piñones-Rivera, C., Quesada, J., & Migration and Health in Social Context Working Group (2021). Structural vulnerability: migration and health in social context. BMJ Global Health, 6(Suppl 1), e005109. https://doi.org/10.1136bmjgh-2021-005109
Castañeda, H., Holmes, S. M., Madrigal, D. S., Young, M. E., Beyeler, N., & Quesada, J. (2015). Immigration as a social determinant of health. Annual Review of Public Health, 36, 375–392. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182419
Cohen, A., & Caxaj, C. S. (2023). A Lifeline in troubled waters: A support intervention for migrant farm workers. International Migration, 61, 132–147. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13027
Cukut Krilić, S., & Knežević Hočevar, D. (2022). Strukturne ranljivosti delavcev migrantov v kmetijstvu. Glasnik Slovenskega etnološkega društva, 62, 70–80. https://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-DOWJG94G
Donlan, W., & Lee, J. (2010) Indigenous and Mestizo Mexican Migrant Farmworkers: A Comparative Mental Health Analysis. School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations, 83. http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/10431
Dueweke, A. R., Hurtado, G., & Hovey, J. D. (2015). Protective psychosocial resources in the lives of Latina migrant farmworkers. Journal of Rural Mental Health, 39(3–4), 162–177. https://doi.org/10.1037/rmh0000038
Durand, J. (2007). El programa bracero (1942-1964). Un balance crítico, Migración y desarrollo, 9, 27–43. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/660/66000902.pdf
Farmworker Justice (2022, June). National Agricultural Workers Survey 2019–2020 Selected Statistics. https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/
/06/NAWS-data-fact-sheet-FINAL.docx-3.pdf
Holmes, S. M. (2013a). Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: Migrant Farmworkers in the United States. University of California Press.
Holmes, S. M. (2013b). “Is it worth risking your life?” Ethnography, risk and death on the U.S.-Mexico border. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 99, 153–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.05.029
Horvath, K. (2014). Securitisation, Economisation and the Political Constitution of Temporary Migration: The Making of the Austrian Seasonal Workers Scheme. Migration Letters, 11(2), 154–170.
Hovey, J. D., & Magaña, C. G. (2002). Psychosocial predictors of anxiety among immigrant Mexican migrant farmworkers: Implications for prevention and treatment. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 8(3), 274–289. https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.8.3.274
Hovey, J. D., & Seligman, L. D. (2006). The Mental Health of Agricultural Workers. In J. E. Lessenger (Ed.), Agricultural Medicine (pp. 282–299). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30105-4_22
ILO – International Labour Organization. (2022). Temporary labour migration: Unpacking complexities. https://www.ilo.org/media/369761/download
Proteus. (2023, June 13). Iowa – Proteus, Inc. https://www.proteusinc.net/what-we-do/where-we-work/iowa
King, R., Lulle, A., & Melossi, E. (2021). New perspectives on the agriculture-migration nexus. Journal of Rural Studies, 85, 52–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.05.004
Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodology, 2nd edition. Sage Publications.
Molenaar, J., & Van Praag, L. (2022). Migrants as ‘vulnerable groups’ in the COVID-19 pandemic: A critical discourse analysis of a taken-for-granted label in academic literature. SSM. Qualitative research in health, 2, 100076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100076
Parker, R. G., Easton, D., & Klein, C. H. (2000). Structural barriers and facilitators in HIV prevention: a review of international research. AIDS (London, England), 14 (Suppl 1), S22–S32. https://doi.org/10.1097/00002030-200006001-00004
Pysklywec, M., McLaughlin J., Tew, M., & Haines, T. (2011). Doctors within borders: meeting the health care needs of migrant farm workers in Canada. CMAJ, 183(9), 1039–1042. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.091404
Ramos, A. K. (2018). A human rights-based approach to farmworker health: An overarching framework to address the social determinants of health. Journal of Agromedicine, 23(1), 25–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2017.1384419
Sargeant, M. (2009, November 1). Health and safety of vulnerable workers in a changing world of work [Paper presentation]. Health and safety protection at work conference, Universita degli Studi di Bergamo. https://www.bollettinoadapt.it/old/files/document/4433WP_09_101.pdf
Southern Poverty Law Center (2013, February 9). Close to Slavery: Guestworker Programs in the United States. https://www.splcenter.org/20130218/close-slavery-guestworker-programs-united-states
Tagliacozzo, S., Pisacane, L., & Kilkey, M. (2020). The interplay between structural and systemic vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic: migrant agricultural workers in informal settlements in Southern Italy. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(9): 1903–1921. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183x.2020.1857230
Thu, K. M. (1998). The Health Consequences of Industrialized Agriculture for Farmers in the United States. Human Organization, 57(3), 335–341. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44127283
Triandafyllidou, A. (2022). Temporary migration: category of analysis or category of practice? Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 48(16): 3847–3859. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2022.2028350
Urrego-Parra, H. N., Rodriguez-Guerrero, L. A., Pastells-Peiró, R., Mateos-Garcia, J. T., Gea-Sanchez, M., Escrig-Piñol, A., & Briones-Vozmediano, E. (2022). The Health of Migrant Agricultural Workers in Europe: A Scoping Review. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 24, 1580–1589. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-022-01330-y
Yeoh, B. S. A. (2020). Temporary Migration Regimes and their Sustainability in Times of COVID-19. International Organization for Migration (IOM). Geneva. https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/temporary-migration.pdf
Younker, T., & Radunovich, H. L. (2022). Farmer Mental Health Interventions: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(1): 244. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010244
Downloads
Published
Versions
- 2024-07-31 (3)
- 2024-07-31 (2)
- 2024-07-31 (1)
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors guarantee that the work is their own original creation and does not infringe any statutory or common-law copyright or any proprietary right of any third party. In case of claims by third parties, authors commit their self to defend the interests of the publisher, and shall cover any potential costs.
More in: Submission chapter
