Details:

• Alternative Title:
  J Agromedicine
• Personal Author:
  Iglesias-Rios, Lisbeth ; Kort, Alexa ; Handal, Alexis J.

  Iglesias-Rios, Lisbeth ; Kort, Alexa ; Handal, Alexis J. Less -
• Description:
  Objectives:
  
  Farmworkers in Michigan face precarious and exploitative labor conditions that affect their access to affordable, fair and quality housing, which are key social determinants of health. We sought to assess the health, working conditions, and housing access, affordability and quality of farmworkers living in and outside of employer-provided housing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  Methods:
  
  We conducted a mixed methods cross-sectional study in collaboration with community partners from the Michigan Farmworker Project and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. We assessed housing, labor conditions and general health through in-depth phone interviews with seasonal, migrant and H-2A farmworkers (n= 63) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021) in Michigan. Descriptive analyses of these data included comparisons by type of farmworker and type of housing (employer-provided or other).
  
  Results:
  
  The majority of farmworkers interviewed were women, seasonal farmworkers, and spoke primarily Spanish. A significant share of farmworker participants reported living in poverty (38.3%) and had low or very low food security (29.2%). Nearly half of farmworkers (47.6%) rated their health as “fair” or “poor” during the year prior to the interview, and more than a third reported 3 or more chronic conditions (39.6%) and lack of health insurance coverage (38.2%). Among the 43 workers tested, 25.6% reported testing positive for COVID-19. Farmworkers reported experiences of objectification and dehumanization. Three quarters of workers reported being treated as less than human by supervisors and one-third reported verbal abuse. Farmworkers also experienced challenges exacerbated by their social vulnerability that impeded them from finding affordable, quality housing. Regarding housing quality, workers reported seeing pests in the home with regularity (39.7%), lacked air conditioning, lack of functioning washers and dryers, concerns about the quality of drinking water accessible to them, and exposure to chemicals.
  
  Conclusion:
  
  This study adds valuable knowledge to the understanding of the systemic barriers to housing and work conditions for female and male seasonal, migrant and H-2A farmworkers in Michigan. Shortcomings in the regulatory and policy environment result in precarious housing and work conditions, including exploitative labor practices. These conditions negate equality, fairness and health equity, important tenants for public health.
  
  
• Subjects:
  [+]

  Adult COVID-19 Cross-Sectional Studies Farmers Female Housing Humans Male Michigan Middle Aged Pandemics Poverty SARS-CoV-2 Transients And Migrants Young Adult
• Keywords:
  [+]

  Farmworkers Housing Labor Exploitation Precarious Work
• Source:
  J Agromedicine. 29(3):432-450
• Pubmed ID:
  38651537
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC11197151
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  P30 ES017885/ES/NIEHS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; T32 ES007062/ES/NIEHS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; T42 OH008455/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/ ; T42OH008455/ACL/ACL HHSUnited States/

  P30 ES017885/ES/NIEHS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; T32 ES007062/ES/NIEHS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; T42 OH008455/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/ ; T42OH008455/ACL/ACL HHSUnited States/ Less -
• Volume:
  29
• Issue:
  3
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  [+]

  urn:sha-512:9f1f437d2ea2d16f33def393cb7de87b76e8b8490876dc5f9a2b03fa695c3fd50499c9ae1badb6e6631a821f8ada68176077207a905df87b00b6c879a42b8cab
• File Type:

• Supporting Files:
  No Additional Files