Earlier this year, WCAHS accepted proposals for short-term projects that address research, outreach, or educational issues of agricultural health and safety in Arizona, California, Hawaii, and/or Nevada. Twelve competitive proposals were received and the following five projects were funded.
Food Security and Nutritional Status among Agricultural Workers in the California Central Valley: Pilot Study
Biological, lifestyle, and environmental factors all affect obesity, both in the general population and among farmworkers. However, less is known about the relationship between mental illness, such as depression, and obesity in the agricultural workforce.
This summer, seven agricultural health and safety projects will be carried out around the Western Region with funding from the Wester Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (WCAHS).
In California, home to the largest population of immigrant farmworkers in the nation, a third of farmworkers are members of Indigenous communities from Southern Mexico. Many speak only an Indigenous language like Mixteco, Zapoteco, or Triqui, and research suggests they are denied access to trained interpreters and face discrimination.
Although we might think that legal vulnerability would lead to poorer physical health, a new study finds that unauthorized farm workers reported better physical health than legal permanent residents and naturalized citizens.
WCAHS small grant recipient Seth Holmes, PhD, MD, was recently named a William T Grant Scholar. With this prestigious award, he will receive explore the experiences of second‐generation indigenous Mexican farmworker youth.
The relationship between migrant health, economics, and labor issues was explored during the Migrant Labor and Global Health Conference held at UC Davis in March.
Approximately half of California’s 650,000 farmworkers have no health care coverage. The other half receives seasonal coverage from their employer for a few months of the year and/or relies on Medi-Cal / Covered California eligibility.
