A migrant worker is anyone who is absent from their permanent place of residence in order to seek employment in agriculture. It is estimated that there are between one and three million migrant agricultural workers in the United States (Fleisher, et al., 2014).
Due to population movements, agricultural migrants are at risk for greater stress and hazards that arises from being displaced and inserted into a new environment. (Fleisher, et al., 2014) and also deal with being marginalized and suffering from poverty. Access to healthcare for migrant workers is scarce and results in poor continuity of care and they are more likely to contract specific health issues and diseases due to the nature of their work and are at increased risk of infectious diseases, diarrhea, infections from parasites, and tuberculosis. In addition, Hispanics, which make up the majority of migrant workers in the United States, are one and half times more likely to be diagnosed with type-2 diabetes as compared to non-Hispanic individuals (Fleisher, et al., 2014).
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"Migrant Workers".
Most migrant workers in the United States live in substandard housing which are crowded, unsanitary and often do not have basic utilities (Ratha, et al., 2015). They are also isolated from such services like public transportation, grocery stores, and health care facilities. Some migrants are eligible for government housing, but to qualify they must be documented, however more than 60% of migrant workers in the US are undocumented.
The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act of 1983 is a federal law that provides labor protections concerning labor contracting, wages, housing, working conditions, and compliance (Loue & Quill, 2014). The act provides migrant workers with protections against work-related hazards to ensure better working conditions. The Migrant Health Act of 1962 authorizes primary and supplemental healthcare delivery services to migrant workers which resulted in the Migrant Health Center program. The program emphasizes comprehensive preventive healthcare to migrant workers and their families and also emphasizes the health and safety of these workers.
Case findings and outreach are significant in the context of migrant workers because this population is underserved and largely invisible to many Americans. Outreach programs have the potential to improve the health outcomes of this population because migrant workers are less likely to use preventive health services. Outreach programs provide case management, health screenings, and health education.
- Fleischer, N. L., Tiesman, H. M., Sumitani, J., Mize, T., Amarnath, K. K., Bayakly, A. R., & Murphy, M. W. (2013). Public health impact of heat-related illness among migrant farmworkers. American journal of preventive medicine, 44(3), 199-206.
- Loue, S., & Quill, B. E. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of rural health. Springer Science & Business Media.
- Ratha, D., Yi, S., & Yousefi, S. R. (2015). Migration and development. Routledge Handbook of Immigration and Refugee Studies, 1(3), 260.
