Essential(ly forgotten) workers: Latine youth farmworkers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID‐19
Latino/Hispanic
agricultural health
child labor
essential workers
health equity
occupational safety and health
youth farmworkers
Journal
American journal of industrial medicine
ISSN: 1097-0274
Titre abrégé: Am J Ind Med
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 8101110
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
15 Oct 2024
15 Oct 2024
Historique:
revised:
24
09
2024
received:
11
07
2024
accepted:
02
10
2024
medline:
15
10
2024
pubmed:
15
10
2024
entrez:
15
10
2024
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
Essential workers across multiple industries faced a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effects were especially severe for agricultural and food processing workers, many of whom are members of the structurally vulnerable Latine community. Under current U.S. federal laws, children under 12 years old can legally work in agriculture, one of the most hazardous U.S. industries. Many of these working youth are Latine and experience health and educational inequities. Using a community-based participatory research approach and a qualitative design, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews in North Carolina in 2022, with service providers in health, education, and advocacy fields (n = 10) and Latine youth farmworkers aged 10-17 (n = 24). We used participatory qualitative analysis methods and a reflexive thematic analysis to understand and describe the work experiences of these youth during the first 2 years of the pandemic. Amidst precarious economic and school situations exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, many youths described an increased need to work to support their families. While aware and sometimes fearful of the added occupational health risks of COVID-19, youth and their families felt they had few other options. Service providers and youth described minimal employer-provided safety protocols or equipment, yet some workers organized their own attempts at safety protocols. Youth narratives imply limited knowledge of basic workplace safety requirements. Study findings emphasize the urgent need to address structural vulnerabilities shaping workplace policies and norms to protect Latine youth farmworkers to support their healthy development.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Essential workers across multiple industries faced a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effects were especially severe for agricultural and food processing workers, many of whom are members of the structurally vulnerable Latine community. Under current U.S. federal laws, children under 12 years old can legally work in agriculture, one of the most hazardous U.S. industries. Many of these working youth are Latine and experience health and educational inequities.
METHODS
METHODS
Using a community-based participatory research approach and a qualitative design, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews in North Carolina in 2022, with service providers in health, education, and advocacy fields (n = 10) and Latine youth farmworkers aged 10-17 (n = 24). We used participatory qualitative analysis methods and a reflexive thematic analysis to understand and describe the work experiences of these youth during the first 2 years of the pandemic.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Amidst precarious economic and school situations exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, many youths described an increased need to work to support their families. While aware and sometimes fearful of the added occupational health risks of COVID-19, youth and their families felt they had few other options. Service providers and youth described minimal employer-provided safety protocols or equipment, yet some workers organized their own attempts at safety protocols. Youth narratives imply limited knowledge of basic workplace safety requirements.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
Study findings emphasize the urgent need to address structural vulnerabilities shaping workplace policies and norms to protect Latine youth farmworkers to support their healthy development.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Subventions
Organisme : NIOSH CDC HHS
Pays : United States
Organisme : CDC HHS
Pays : United States
Informations de copyright
© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Références
Guasti N. The plight of essential workers during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The Lancet. 2020;395(10237):1587.
Haley BM, Patil P, Levy JI, et al. Evaluating COVID‐19 risk to essential workers by occupational group: a case study in massachusetts. J Community Health. 2023;49:1‐9.
Rodriguez‐Diaz CE, Guilamo‐Ramos V, Mena L, et al. Risk for COVID‐19 infection and death among latinos in the United States: examining heterogeneity in transmission dynamics. Ann Epidemiol. 2020;52:46‐53.e2.
Salgado de Snyder VN, McDaniel M, Padilla AM, Parra‐Medina D. Impact of COVID‐19 on latinos: a social determinants of health model and scoping review of the literature. Hisp J Behav Sci. 2021;43(3):174‐203.
Waltenburg MA, Rose CE, Victoroff T, et al. Coronavirus disease among workers in food processing, food manufacturing, and agriculture workplaces. Emerging Infect Dis. 2021;27(1):243‐249.
Ramos AK, Lowe AE, Herstein JJ, Schwedhelm S, Dineen KK, Lowe JJ. Invisible no more: the impact of COVID‐19 on essential food production workers. J Agromed. 2020;25(4):378‐382.
Cantos VD, Rebolledo PA. Structural vulnerability to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) among latinx communities in the United States. Clin Infect Dis. 2020;73(suppl ment_2):S136‐S137.
Plasencia G, Gupta R, Kaalund K, Martinez‐Bianchi V, Gonzalez‐Guarda R, Thoumi A. Systemic racism affecting latinx population health during the COVID‐19 pandemic and beyond: perspectives of latinx community health workers and community‐based organization leaders. Health Equity. 2023;7(1):715‐721.
Gold A, Fung W, Gabbard S, Carroll D. Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2019‐2020: A Demographic and Employment Profile of United States Farmworkers. United States Department of Labor.Research Report No. 16 2022.
Handal AJ, Iglesias‐Ríos L, Fleming PJ, Valentín‐Cortés MA, O'Neill MS. “Essential” but expendable: farmworkers during the COVID‐19 pandemic—the michigan farmworker project. Am J Public Health. 2020;110(12):1760‐1762.
Liebman AK, Seda CH, Galván AR. Farmworkers and COVID‐19: community‐based partnerships to address health and safety. Am J Public Health. 2021;111(8):1456‐1458.
Perez‐Lua FM, Chan‐Golston AM, Burke NJ, Young M‐EDT. The influence of organizational aspects of the U.S. agricultural industry and socioeconomic and political conditions on farmworkers' COVID‐19 workplace safety. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(23):7138.
Reid A, Ronda‐Perez E, Schenker MB. Migrant workers, essential work, and COVID‐19. Am J Ind Med. 2021;64(2):73‐77.
Wage and Hour Division U.S. Department of Labor. Child Labor Bulletin 102. Child labor requirements in agricultural occupations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. US Department of Labor; Published 2016. Accessed July 2024. https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/childlabor102.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention Initiative. https://archive.cdc.gov/#/details?url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/childag/cais/techinfo.html. Published 2018. Updated April 2018. Accessed July 2024.
Spielberger JFA, Maki R. Child farmworkers: Too young, too vulnerable, and unprotected, Addressing racial inequity in America's child labor laws (2021);63:Published 2021, accessed July 2024 https://www.lawyersforgoodgovernment.org/child-farmworker-report
Hernandez T, Gabbard S. Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2015‐2016: A demographic and employment profile of United States Farmworkers. JBS International; 2018.
Quesada J, Hart LK, Bourgois P. Structural vulnerability and health: latino migrant laborers in the United States. Med Anthropol. 2011;30(4):339‐362.
Arnold TJ, Arcury TA, Quandt SA, Mora DC, Daniel SS. Structural vulnerability and occupational injury among latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina. J Environ Occup Health Policy. 2021;31(2):125‐140.
Méndez M, Flores‐Haro G, Zucker L. The (in)visible victims of disaster: understanding the vulnerability of undocumented latino/a and indigenous immigrants. Geoforum. 2020;116:50‐62.
Farmer P. An anthropology of structural violence. Curr Anthropol. 2004;45(3):305‐325.
López L, Barajas‐Gonzalez RG, Díaz G, Moreno F, García Coll C. Addressing inequities in education: considerations for Latinx children and youth in the era of COVID‐19. Society for Research in Child Development; 2020
Guild A, Figueroa I. The neighbors who feed us: farmworkers and government policy ‐ challenges and solutions. Harvard Law Policy Rev. 2018;13(1):157‐186.
Wiggins MF. Farm labor and the struggle for justice in the Eastern United States. In: Quandt SA, Arcury TA, eds., Latinx farmworkers in the eastern United States: health, safety, and justice. 2nd ed. Springer Nature Switzerland SG; 2020:227‐251.
Ortiz P. From slavery to Cesar Chavez and beyond. In: Wiggins MF, Thompson CD, ed. The human cost of food: farmworkers lives, labor, and advocacy. University of Texas Press; 2002:249‐276.
Arcury TA, Arnold TJ, Quandt SA, et al. Health and occupational injury experienced by latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina, USA. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;17(1):248.
Shipp EM, Cooper SP, del Junco DJ, Cooper CJ, Whitworth RE. Acute occupational injury among adolescent farmworkers from South Texas. Inj Prev. 2013;19(4):264‐270.
Quandt SA, Arnold TJ, Mora DC, Arcury TA, Talton JW, Daniel SS. Hired latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina: educational status and experience through a social justice lens. J Environ Occup Health Policy. 2021;30(4):282‐293.
Gabbard S, Georges A, Hernandez T, Sum C, Carroll D Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2000‐2009: Profiles of Youth, Parents, and Children of Farm Workers in the United States. US Department of Labor. Research Report No. 102014.
McLaurin JA, Liebman AK. Unique agricultural safety and health issues of migrant and immigrant children. J Agromed. 2012;17(2):186‐196.
Quandt SA, Arnold TJ. The health of children in the Latinx farmworker community in the eastern United States. In: Arcury TA, Quandt SA, ed. Latinx farmworkers in the Eastern United States: health, safety, and justice. 2nd ed. Springer Nature Switzerland SG; 2020:163‐196.
Castillo F, Mora AM, Kayser GL, et al. Environmental health threats to Latino migrant farmworkers. In: Fielding JE ed., Annu Rev Public Health, 2021. Vol 42.2021 257‐276.
Arcury TA, Arnold TJ, Sandberg JC, et al. Latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina: study design and participant baseline characteristics. Am J Ind Med. 2019;62(2):156‐167.
Arnold TJ, Malki A, Leyva J, et al. Engaging youth advocates in Community‐Based participatory research on child farmworker health in North Carolina. Progress Commun Health Partnerships: Res Educ Action. 2019;13(2):191‐199.
O'Brien BC, Harris IB, Beckman TJ, Reed DA, Cook DA. Standards for reporting qualitative research: a synthesis of recommendations. Acad Med. 2014;89(9):1245‐1251.
Yeager KA, Bauer‐Wu S. Cultural humility: essential foundation for clinical researchers. Appl Nurs Res. 2013;26(4):251‐256.
Walden M. Agriculture and Agribuisiness: North Carolina's number one industry. NC State University; 2023.
United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service & North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 2022 North Carolina Agricultural Statistics publication No. 222. 2023.
Sánchez‐Guerra A After pushback from officials, Cooper halts executive order to protect agricultural workers. https://www.newsobserver.com/article245580035.html. Published 2020. Accessed July 2024.
NC Department of Labor. Rulemaking actions: Petitions for infectious disease rules. NC Department of Labor. https://www.labor.nc.gov/rules-and-regulations-rulemaking-actions. Published 2024. Accessed July 2024.
Nichols TR, Biederman DJ, Gringle MR. Using research poetics “responsibly”: applications for health promotion research. Int Q Community Health Educ. 2014;35(1):5‐20.
Braun V, Clarke V. Thematic Analysis. American Psychological Association; 2012.
Lincoln YS, Guba EG. Naturalistic Inquiry. Sage; 1985.
Nowell LS, Norris JM, White DE, Moules NJ. Thematic analysis: striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. Int J Qual Methods. 2017;16(1):1609406917733847.
Stahl NA, King JR. Expanding approaches for research: understanding and using trustworthiness in qualitative research. J Dev Educ. 2020;44(1):26‐28.
Morse JM, Barrett M, Mayan M, Olson K, Spiers J. Verification strategies for establishing reliability and validity in qualitative research. Int J Qual Methods. 2002;1(2):13‐22.
Gurley LK Child labor violations soared in fiscal 2023. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/10/19/child-labor-violations-2023/. Published 2023. Accessed July 2024.
Kim J Perdue farms and Tyson foods under federal inquiry over reports of illegal child labor. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2023/09/25/1201524399/child-labor-perdue-farms-tyson-foods-investigation. Published 2023. Accessed July 2024.
Isasi CR, Gallo LC, Cai J, et al. Economic and psychosocial impact of COVID‐19 in the hispanic community health study/study of latinos. Health Equity. 2023;7(1):206‐215.
Quandt SA, LaMonto NJ, Mora DC, Talton JW, Laurienti PJ, Arcury TA. COVID‐19 pandemic among immigrant latinx farmworker and non‐farmworker families: a rural–urban comparison of economic, educational, healthcare, and immigration concerns. J Environ Occup Health Policy. 2021;31(1):30‐47.
Carlos Chavez FL, Sanchez D, Capielo Rosario C, Han S, Cerezo A, Cadenas GA. COVID‐19 economic and academic stress on Mexican American adolescents’ psychological distress: parents as essential workers. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2023;53:1‐15.
Cortés‐García L, Hernández Ortiz J, Asim N, et al. COVID‐19 conversations: A qualitative study of majority Hispanic/Latinx youth experiences during early stages of the pandemic. Child Youth Care Forum. 2022;51(4):769‐793.
Arnold TJ, Arcury TA, Quandt SA, Sandberg JC, Talton JW, Daniel SS. Understanding latinx child farmworkers' reasons for working: a mixed methods approach. J Adolesc Res. 2022;38:1142‐1176.
Kearney GD, Rodriguez G, Quandt SA, Arcury JT, Arcury TA. Work safety climate, safety behaviors, and occupational injuries of youth farmworkers in North Carolina. Am J Public Health. 2015;105(7):1336‐1343.
Arcury TA, Quandt SA, Arnold TJ, et al. Work safety culture of latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina. Am J Ind Med. 2020;63(10):917‐927.
Shipp EM, Cooper SP, del Junco DJ, et al. Chronic back pain and associated work and non‐work variables among farmworkers from starr county, texas. J Agromed. 2009;14(1):22‐32.
Arnold TJ, Arcury TA, Sandberg JC, et al. Heat‐related illness among latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina: a mixed‐methods study. J Environ Occup Health Policy. 2020;30(2):111‐126.
Flynn MA, Eggerth DE, Jacobson Jr. CJ. Undocumented status as a social determinant of occupational safety and health: the workers' perspective. Am J Ind Med. 2015;58(11):1127‐1137.
Bail KM, Foster J, Dalmida SG, et al. The impact of invisibility on the health of migrant farmworkers in the southeastern United States: a case study from Georgia. Nurs Res Pract. 2012;2012(1):1‐8.