Promoting Occupational Health among Indigenous Farmwork*

Oregon Law Center, Portland OR

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) Promoting Occupational Health of Indigenous Farmworkers in Oregon: A growing number of farmworkers in the United States that are coming from indigenous communities in Mexico. In addition to speaking languages other than Spanish, these workers have distinct cultural traditions, not shared by other farmworkers. This project aims to develop community-based strategies to address the health disparities of this vulnerable working population. A multidisciplinary project is proposed which includes partners with expertise in community advocacy, environmental science, provision of health services, and worker education. The investigators propose to develop greatly needed and innovative methods to improve the capacity of migrant farmworkers who speak indigenous languages to understand the hazards associated with agricultural work and practical ways to protect themselves, and to increase their access to health and social services. Specifically, this project aims to, 1) identify priorities for workplace safety education, interventions, and policy change for farmworkers speaking indigenous languages, health providers serving this community, and other community stakeholders; 2) build leadership and problem-solving capacity among persons speaking indigenous languages; 3) collaborate with community agencies, activists, and advocates serving indigenous workers to develop strategies to increase the workers' knowledge and use of resources on priority issues; 4) develop educational materials relevant to the health and safety of indigenous farmworkers and disseminate these materials via multiple mechanisms; 5) increase the agricultural community's knowledge of the needs of indigenous farmworkers; 6) develop sustainable programs to improve the health of this population and to create effective changes to address identified priorities; and 7) develop a successful partnership including representatives from the farmworker communities, health providers, and environmental scientists through this project.