Alicia L. Salvatore, MPH¹, Jose Camacho², Ana Vargas³, Geri Kavanagh-Baird², Elvia Cabrera², Jesus Lopez⁴, Asa Bradman, PhD⁵, and Brenda Eskenazi, PhD⁵. (1) Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS), UC Berkeley, School of Public Health, 2150 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 600, Berkeley, CA 94720, (510) 642-8917, salvator@uclink.berkeley.edu, (2) CHAMACOS, 1441 Constitution Blvd., Salinas, CA 93906, (3) Natividad Medical Center, CHAMACOS, 1441 Constitution Blvd., Salinas, CA 93906, (4) California Rural Legal Assistance, 3 Williams Rd., Salinas, CA 93905, (5) Center for Children's Environmental Health Research, University of California, Berkeley, 2150 Shattuck Ave, Suite 600, Berkeley, CA 94720

Farmworker pesticide exposure can have multiple implications for the health of both farmworkers and their children, who may be exposed to pesticides that are taken home on their parents’ skin and clothing. Identifying environmental and behavioral determinants of pesticide exposure, including farmworker knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, behaviors and barriers to change, is a crucial first step to developing interventions to reduce pesticide exposure to farmworkers and their families. This presentation will focus on the results of a field-based survey (N =138) collected as part of a work-site intervention study conducted with Latino farmworkers in the Salinas Valley, California by the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS). Results to be presented include worker knowledge of pesticide and pesticide safety, attitudes toward protective behaviors, perceptions of susceptibility, severity, worker habits at work and at home, and perceived barriers to change. Findings, including low knowledge about pesticides, the prevalence of multiple risk behaviors at work and at home, and the presence of barriers at multiple levels, indicate a strong need for culturally appropriate multi-level interventions to reduce pesticide exposures in this underserved and under-protected population. Recommendations for interventions to reduce pesticide exposure for farmworkers and their children will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

• Discuss several determinants of worker and take-home pesticide exposure;
• Identify factors that are important in the design of interventions to reduce pesticide exposure for farmworkers and their children.

Keywords: Pesticides, Agricultural Work Safety

Related Web page: www.chamacos.org

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.