Healthcare

Climate-related environmental hazards, including successive high-heat days and poor air quality from wildfire smoke, are projected to continue and worsen, increasing occupational risks for farmworkers in Central Washington. Farmworker support agencies are facing related training and resource provision needs while filling associated support gaps.

Fatal and non-fatal injuries in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors remain both elevated and poorly documented, compared to other work settings. The proposed surveillance project expands on the current Risk Information System for Commercial (RISC) Fishing, to encompass agriculture, forestry, and fishing in the four state (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington) PNASH region.  

Project aims are to:  

Previous research demonstrates the important impact of mental health on the well-being of farmers and farm workers. Farmworkers face seasonal work demands, workplace safety conditions, and occupational stressors that all contribute to the prevalence of stress and anxiety in Latino rural communities. Access to health care and culturally appropriate diagnostic and support services has also been identified as an essential barrier to reducing impact and burden. 

Previous studies have documented high levels of pesticide exposure among Latinx farmworkers. However, most research has focused almost exclusively on men, despite women representing an increasing proportion of the agricultural workforce. Some studies have indicated that women farmworkers experience Acute Pesticide Poisonings (APPs) at significantly higher rates than their male counterparts.