Community Collaboration for Farmworker Health & Safety

by Lynae Hawkes (published 2/1/2006 in Country Folks Grower)

For more than two years a group of farmworkers and farm owners in Orange County, New York have worked collaboratively in an effort to reduce occupational injuries and illnesses affecting migrant and seasonal farmworkers. They began their effort in the Spring of 2004, by recognizing the short and long term economic and social impacts these injuries and illnesses have on both farmworkers and the farm owners. This shared understanding has since lead to the identification of priority concerns affecting those who work in the Black Dirt Region. It is important to note the primary commodity in this region is onions. However, the resulting priorities: eye irritation, respiratory infections, back and knee pain, heat related illnesses, and fungal infections to both the hands and feet were not identified as being commodity specific, but rather a result of the environment.

With support from the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) and the local migrant health center, Hudson River Health Care (HRHC), the group went on to rank the priority concerns and to develop corresponding interventions aimed at reducing or possibly eliminating the injury or illness all together. Based upon an intervention development model, which evaluates (among other measures) the intervention’s potential effectiveness, feasibility, and affordability, the group decided to focus their efforts on reducing eye irritation through prevention and symptomatic treatment.

Specifically, the group offered tinted safety glasses as a way to prevent eye irritation, and distributed small bottles of saline solution to help relieve eye irritation. In addition, information on how to adjust the safety glasses for a tighter more comfortable fit, and how to use the eye drops, was presented orally. Favorable feedback has resulted in the decision, to continue these efforts to reduce eye irritation through prevention and treatment.

In the coming year, the group will modify the intervention based on feedback from more than 90 participants. In particular, the group will evaluate and later offer two pairs of safety glasses along with a plentiful supply of saline solution to study participants. In addition the group will develop a written information piece, which they will distribute to not only study participants, but to the greater farmworker community. Information contained within the flyer will be in Spanish, and will assist workers in purchasing the correct saline solution (eye drops) at a local pharmacy or grocery store. The group is also exploring additional outlets from which to obtain safety glasses and other personal protective equipment, i.e. gloves, dust masks, etc.

If you have suggestions or would like to enroll your farm into the study please contact, Lynae Hawkes, Study Coordinator at 1-800-343-7527 ext. 232 or by email at lhawkes@nycamh.com. NYCAMH is also available to conduct on-farm safety training and on-farm safety surveys at your farm. All of our on-farm safety training sessions are offered free of cost to farms in New York. We can also conduct safety training in Spanish. This training is available to any type of farm in New York and can be conducted at a time that is most convenient for your farm. If you need more information or wish to schedule an on-farm safety survey or on-farm safety training session, contact Jim Carrabba, Farm Safety Education Specialist at (800) 343-7527 ext 239 or e-mail jcarrabba@nycamh.com. NYCAMH, a program of Bassett Healthcare, is enhancing agricultural and rural health by preventing and treating occupational injury and illness.