What Price Our Produce? The Impact of Farming on the Health and Wellbeing of Our Children
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Susan Bauer, MA, MPH Executive Director Community Health Partnership of Illinois [email protected] October 18, 2012 Produce? The Impact of Farming on the Health and Wellbeing of Our Children
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What Price Our Produce? The Impact of Farming on the Health and Wellbeing of Our Children. Susan Bauer, MA, MPH Executive Director Community Health Partnership of Illinois [email protected] October 18, 2012. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of What Price Our Produce? The Impact of Farming on the Health and Wellbeing of Our Children
Susan Bauer, MA, MPHExecutive Director
Community Health Partnership of [email protected] 18, 2012
What Price Our Produce? The Impact of Farming on the Health and Wellbeing
ofOur Children
What Price Our Produce? The Impact of Farming on the Health and Wellbeing
ofOur Children
www.chpofil.org
www.chpofil.org
Community Health Partnership of Illinois:
Four Decades Serving Farmworkers, Rural Communities
Community Health Partnership of Illinois:
Four Decades Serving Farmworkers, Rural Communities
Primary Health Care Clinics (FQHC): Aurora, Woodstock, Kankakee, Rantoul, Mendota*, Harvard*
School/Head Start based Services Environmental/Occupational
Health Promotion Chronic Disease Management Cancer Prevention and Screening Peer-led Health
Promotion/Advocacy Patient Majority Governing Board
Trouble on the Farm: NRDC 1998 Report
Trouble on the Farm: NRDC 1998 Report
•Pre-WWII life on the farm = healthy living•Today pervasive use of pesticides on farms, + exurban encroachment = potential for higher exposure to toxins for farm, rural, exurban children•Increased consciousness re: health risks to children who consume products treated with agricultural chemicals•Increasing body of evidence that those risks are compounded by environmental exposures for children on, near farms that use agricultural chemicals on crops (Lu et. al, 1999)
“FOOD FOR THOUGHT”“FOOD FOR THOUGHT” Agriculture consistently ranks among top 2-3
most hazardous jobs in US, yet least regulated, fueled by the “Great American Agrarian Myth”
Occupational health risks are indistinguishable from environmental health risks
Child labor is alive and well, tragicallyChildren as young as 16 can (and do) perform hazardous jobsChildren as young as 12 can work on any farm Younger children can (and do) work legally with permission of parentwww.chpofil.org
www.chpofil.org
What Realities Do Migrant Farmworkers Face Every
Day?
What Realities Do Migrant Farmworkers Face Every
Day? • 1.5-3 million farm laborers in
the US; 65,000 in Illinois (6% are children (90,000-180,000 based on 2000 NAWS)
• Workers (including children), lack legal protections, immigration status, very low income, uninsurable
• 80+ farms/nurseries in Kane County
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Systemic Barriers to Healthy, Safe FarmsSystemic Barriers to Healthy, Safe Farms
OSHA/IDPH Field Sanitation only and only for farms with 11/10+ workers, IL does not cover workers who do not travel from home (e.g., local teen detasslers)
EPA Worker Protection Standard Delegates enforcement to Depts. of Ag. Child Labor Laws inadequate to protect children
Realities of Migrant Farmworkers that Impact
Health Status
Realities of Migrant Farmworkers that Impact
Health Status
Nat’l Ag Worker Survey (2000) Young (50%<31; 6% <18) Male (75%) Immigrants from Mexico
(71%)
CHP UDS (20110 Uninsured, Uninsurable
(93% AGE 20+ Sub-poverty wages (90%)
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IMPACT ON CHILDREN WHO LIVE NEAR FARMS
Study of 109 children, median house dust concentrations for organophosphates in
house dust were 7 times higher for agricultural family children than others.
* Median concentrations of pesticide metabolites in agricultural children’s urine
were 5 times higher than for other children.* Proximity to farmland increased exposures.
“In some cases the distinction between farmland and residence is blurred, as when a home is in the midst or on the boundary of an
orchard…” (Lu et al, 1999, Washington state)
IMPACT ON CHILDREN WHO LIVE NEAR FARMS
Study of 109 children, median house dust concentrations for organophosphates in
house dust were 7 times higher for agricultural family children than others.
* Median concentrations of pesticide metabolites in agricultural children’s urine
were 5 times higher than for other children.* Proximity to farmland increased exposures.
“In some cases the distinction between farmland and residence is blurred, as when a home is in the midst or on the boundary of an
orchard…” (Lu et al, 1999, Washington state)
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What is Being Done to Address the Problem?
What is Being Done to Address the Problem?
Blueprint for Protecting Children in Agriculture (Marshfield Clinic, WI)
Regulatory Reform (Ag Child Labor Hazardous Occupation Orders, NIOSH)
Proposed CARE Act (Children’s Act for Responsible Employment)
Exposure Prevention Education (NRDC, MCN,NCFH)
Peer-Led Health Education and Advocacy:Community Health WorkersPromotores/as de Salud (Health Promoters)
WHILE WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR MEANINGFUL REFORM IN AGRICULTURE
PRACTICES/LAWS, WHAT CAN WE DO TODAY?
WHILE WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR MEANINGFUL REFORM IN AGRICULTURE
PRACTICES/LAWS, WHAT CAN WE DO TODAY?
Initiated in 1996 with NIOSH occupational health research grant
Preceded by many years of assistance from MHP
First step: gain support of clinical staff
Tailored to special needs of MSFW population
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Leadership Development Around Health and Wellness
Leadership Development Around Health and Wellness
Community health educators, advocates
National Award in 2005
Expanded to three clinic sites (Aurora)
Grounded in principles of Popular Education (Paolo Freire)
Underlying Principles of CHP’s Promotores de Salud Program Underlying Principles of CHP’s Promotores de Salud Program
Asset-based Model of Community Assessment, Response
Community is not the “object” of the intervention, but a key partner in the delivery of the intervention
Most effective strategies to modify risk perception, behavior are created, delivered by the community
Who Are OurPromotores de Salud?
Who Are OurPromotores de Salud?
Farmworkers with: Natural leadership skills Trust of their peers Interest in health, safety Desire to learn and share
what they learn Everyday interaction
with target community Support of family to
make commitment necessary to do their work
Promotores’ Roles and Activities
Promotores’ Roles and Activities
Research (administer surveys, recruit participants, review tools, conduct intervention/observations)Promote safe workplace practices with managers
Health Promotion (one on one, small group “platicas”)
Model desired behavior (e.g., Protective Eyewear)
Referrals/Transportation for Appointments
ID, communicate to clinic unmet individual, community needs
- Antiquated US child labor laws, and inadequate regulation and enforcement of Ag protective laws, at worst have proved fatal, and at a minimum compromise the health and wellbeing of children who work or live on farmsUrgent need to expand our locus of concern re: pesticide exposure in child consumers to include children involved in crop production, and those who live on or near farms that employ harmful chemical in crop production-Work to pass the CARE Act
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CLOSING THOUGHTS CLOSING THOUGHTS
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www.chpofil.org
RESOURCES and REFERENCES
RESOURCES and REFERENCES
http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/nccrahshttp://www.nrdc.org/health/kids/farm/farminx.asphttp://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/childaghttp://www.hrw.org/support-carewww.farmworkerjustice.orgwww.ncfh.orgwww.migrantclinician.orgwww.migranthealth.orgwww.spcpweb.org
