 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Antonia Martinez, Beti Thompson, PhD, and Gloria Coronado, PhD. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109, 206-667-7891, amartine@fhcrc.org
Farm workers in the United States are at risk for occupational exposure to pesticides. Little is know about attitudes and beliefs of workers about their risk of pesticide exposure, the health effects of exposure, and the need for protective practices. A population-based cross sectional study was conducted among farm workers in Eastern Washington State to examine farm worker attitudes, beliefs and practices about pesticide safety. A total of 506 Hispanic and 58 non-Hispanic white farm workers participated in an in-person interview. A similar percentage of Hispanic and non-Hispanic white farm workers believed that pesticides are important to protect crops from insect damage (98.0% vs. 100%) and that if used properly, pesticides are safe (98.4% vs. 90.4%). Hispanic farm workers were more concerned than their non-Hispanic white counterparts about health effects of pesticides both at work (90.2% vs. 40.0%) or at home from drift of nearby fields (92.1% vs. 45.8%). A greater percentage of Hispanic workers agreed that pesticides can cause harmful effects in workers (97.8% of Hispanics vs. 44.4% of non-Hispanic whites) and in children of workers (95.3% vs. 34.0%). Some Hispanic workers believed that if they asked to be protected from pesticides they might lose their jobs or nothing would be done. Hispanic farm workers appear to have a high level of concern about their exposure to pesticides and fatalistic attitudes about the effectiveness of requesting greater protection. Future research should examine how this might be changed.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.