Pesticide Training for Adolescent Migrant FarmworkersOverview"Pesticide Training for Adolescent Migrant Farmworkers" is a two-year study funded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. The Center for Research for Occupational and Environmental Toxicology at Oregon Health & Science University is the grantee. This study is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of commonly used pesticide safety training materials with migrant adolescent farmworkers. While materials are available to train farmworkers on pesticide safety, few of the training methods have been evaluated with non-English speaking populations and until now, no studies have addressed the effectiveness of agriculture health and safety training with a dolescent migrant farmworkers. This project aims to determine if cultural, developmental, and age-related factors are associated with adolescent's knowledge and beliefs of pesticide hazards and safety precautions, and to what extent these factors influence the effectiveness of pesticide safety training. The project compares the effectiveness of video methods of training and a more interactive "flip chart" approach. The effectiveness of training delivered in the context of an educational program versus traditional methods of employer-initiated training is also examined. An individualized computer-assisted training is also being tested. The educational interventions used in this study are built upon previous community-based projects with the migrant agricultural community and are dependent upon collaborative relationships with organizations that serve and advocate for the Latino agricultural community. Results from this project provide a model for future educational intervention research in agricultural occupational safety and health and contribute to the knowledge of workplace exposures and health effects of this vulnerable population. Click on a link below to learn more about our research with adolescent farmworkers. Please visit the publications list for more information on our research results.
Study PopulationNationwide studies have indicated that 14- to 17-year-olds make up approximately seven percent of all hired farmworkers an estimate that continues to increase annually. Furthermore, an increasing number of workers are originating from the southernmost states of Mexico and Central America. Many of them come from impoverished regions, are poorly educated and speak indigenous dialects instead of Spanish. Our research has shown that approximately two-thirds of adolescent farmworkers travel without the guardianship of parents. Training Requirements for Agricultural WorkersThe Worker Protection Standard , created by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1996, indicates that the training requirements for workers be in effect from the time that a pesticide is applied until thirty days after the expiration of the final restrictive entry interval (REI). This applies to all pesticides, including fungicides, which have the WPS regulation cited on the label. All states must, at a minimum, meet the requirements of the federal WPS, but some states may be more restrictive. All workers must receive a basic training at the time of hire. This basic training includes an overview of the potential risks involved in fieldwork, and how to protect oneself from these risks. In general, this basic training points out the information displayed on the EPA poster that is posted by requirement in every agricultural workplace. By the sixth day of employment all workers must have the WPS training; in Oregon this is frequently offered as a video or a flip chart presentation. The WPS worker training does not have to be effective (i.e. workers must receive the information, but they do not have to know the information). The state of Oregon has adopted the federal regulations and, in addition, requires all agricultural workers to receive Hazard Communication (OAR 437-004-9800). Whereas pesticide handlers receive extensive hazard communication because they may be in direct contact with pesticides, workers receive basic hazard communication because they may be in contact with pesticide residues. In Oregon, giving workers the brochure titled, "Safe Practices When Working Around Hazardous Agricultural Chemicals," published by Oregon OSHA in English and Spanish, fulfills the workers' requirement. Adolescents younger than the age of 16 are prohibited from handling or applying pesticides and other agricultural chemicals classified as Category I or II of toxicity by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. §136). Even with federal and state laws requiring pesticide training, our research has shown that only about 30% of farmworkers reported having received pesticide training. This frequency is comparable to that reported by other investigators. Twenty-one percent of teenagers interviewed in our 1998 survey reported mixing and/or applying pesticides. Pesticide Knowledge, Work Practices and Health Beliefs of Adolescent Migrant FarmworkersSince 1998 our research with adolescent migrant farmworkers has focused on the self-reported work practices, pesticide risk perceptions, and knowledge of pesticide hazards. In collaboration with Oregon Migrant Education Program (MEP), hundreds of interviews have been conducted in schools and migrant farmworker housing camps. Surveys are generally conducted in the summertime, when there is great demand for hand laborers to harvest Oregon's assortment of berry crops. The following table lends insight into the work practices, risk perceptions, and pesticide knowledge of adolescent migrant farmworkers. Qualitative Research: Adolescent Migrant Farmworker Perspectives of FarmworkWe utilize an ecological model and focus group methodology to elicit adolescent migrant farmworkers' perceptions and beliefs about the health hazards associated with pesticide exposure. The focus group discussions lend insight on how migrant adolescents learn about pesticides and protective behaviors and how they decide to utilize protective behaviors against pesticide exposure. To gain a deeper appreciation of the perspective of seasonal migratory workers, the value and meaning of agricultural work in this population is also explored. This information is integrated into current survey instruments used with migrant farmworkers in order to more fully understand the work characteristics and occupational risks of youth agricultural workers. The ecological framework used in our qualitative research was designed for use in occupational and environmental settings (Salazar & Primomo, 1994; Salazar & Beaton 2000). An ecological framework typically consists of multiple nested levels of interacting systems. In our current work, four levels of influence were considered: the microenvironment, the organizational environment, the social/community environment, and the macroenvironment.
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