Laboratory studies and case reports of accidental exposure to large amounts of chemicals indicate that there are immediate and long‐term negative health consequences of exposure to agricultural chemicals. 

Concern about the adverse public health and environmental effects of pesticide use is persistent. Recognizing the importance of surveillance for acute occupational pesticide-related illness, we report on surveillance for this condition across multiple states. Between 1998 and 1999, a total of 1,009 individuals with acute occupational pesticide-related illness were identified by states participating in the SENSOR-pesticides program. 

The California Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program (PISP) is a major resource for pesticide illness epidemiology. This work attempts to improve characterization of pesticide illness in California, evaluate case ascertainment of the PISP and identify PISP’s limitations and biases for studying the incidence and epidemiology of pesticide-related illness. 

Pesticide Action Network, United Farmworkers of America, and California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation analyzed California government data on agricultural poisonings and enforcement of worker safety standards. Nearly 500 pesticide poisonings were reported for California farmworkers every year. The actual number of pesticide-related illnesses is unknown, since many poisonings go unreported. 

Describes the growth from 1987 through 1996 of the Occupational Pesticide Poisoning Surveillance Program at the Texas Department of Health. The program was initially based on a Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks (SENSOR) model, using sentinel providers to report cases, supplementing the passive reporting by physicians that was required by law. 

Matthew C. Keifer, MD, MPH; Iris Reyes, MPH; Amy K. Liebman, MA, MPA; Patricia Juarez-Carrillo, PhD, MPH.  Abstract. Audience response systems (ARS) have long been used to improve the interactivity of educational activities. Most studies of ARS have addressed education of literate trainees. How well these devices work with low-literacy subjects is not well studied. Information gathering on the training audience is an important use of ARS and helpful in improving the targeting of training information. However, obtaining demographic information from vulnerable populations with reasons to be concerned about divulging information about themselves has not been tested. In addition, a culturally competent method to effectively collect demographic and evaluation data of this growing population is essential. This project investigated the use of ARS to gather information from Hispanic immigrant workers, many of whom are socially vulnerable and have limited English proficiency (LEP) and low-literacy. Workers attended focus groups and were asked to use ARS devices or clickers to respond to questions. Questions were both catergorical (multiple choice) and open-ended numerical (text entry), and varied from simple queries to more sensitive points regarding immigration. Most workers answered the one-key response categorical questions with little difficulty. In contrast, some participants struggled when responding to numerical questions, especially when the response required pressing multiple clicker keys. An overwhelming majority of participants reported that the clickers were comfortable and easy to use despite the challenges presented by the more complex responses. The error rate increased as question complexity increased and the trend across three ordered categories of response complexity reached statistical significance. Results suggest that ARS is a viable method for gathering dichotomous or higher-order categorical information from LEP and low-literacy populations in a group setting while assuring anonymity. However, it is recommended that clickers be developed and tested with fewer, bigger, and more widely separated buttons, and less printing on the buttons for these populations. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of using clickers with simplified configurations in the workplace as a tool to collect data for surveys and assessments and to better engage LEP and low-literacy workers in training sessions. 

Summary of Results from the California Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program - 2010.  

 The Department of Pesticide Regulation administers the California pesticide safety program, widely regarded as the most stringent in the nation.  Mandatory reporting of pesticide illnesses has been part of this comprehensive program since 1971.  Illness reports are collected, evaluated and analyzed by program staff.  PISP is the oldest and largest program of its kind in the nation; its scientists provide data to regulators, advocates, industry, and indivudal citizens.

Despite ongoing concern about pesticide exposure of farmworkers and their families, relatively few studies have tried to directly test the association of behavioral and environmental factors with pesticide exposure in this population.  This study seeks to identify factors potentially associated with pesticide exposure among farmworkers; grade the evidence in the peer-reviewed literature for such associations; and propose a minimum set of measures necessary to understand farmworker risk for pesticide exposure.   From: Environmental Health Perspectives

Reducing exposure to toxic environmental agents is a critical area of intervention for obstetricians, gynecologists, and other reproductive health care professionals.  The evidence that links exposure to toxic environmental agents and adverse reproductive and developmental health outcomes is sufficiently robust, and the American College of Ostetricicans and Gynecologists and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine join leading scientists and other clinical practitioners in calling for timely action to identify and reduce exposure to toxic envrionmental agents while addressing the consequences of such exposure.

The resources listed below are available from the National Immigration Law Center’s website, www.nilc.org. Each of them is subject to being updated or otherwise revised as new developments warrant. The documents available from the links provided here may be downloaded by individual readers and either printed out or viewed electronically, but electronic copies of the documents MAY NOT BE UPLOADED TO ANY WEBSITE other than NILC’s.

• Overview of Immigrant Eligibility for Federal Programs (see page 4 for a list of “qualified” immigrants) – www.nilc.org/document.html?id=108
• Maps: Health Coverage for Immigrant Children and Health Coverage for Pregnant Women – www.nilc.org/healthcoveragemaps.html
• Medical Assistance Programs for Immigrants in Various States – www.nilc.org/document.html?id=159
• Sponsored Immigrants & Benefits – www.nilc.org/document.html?id=166
• “Lawfully Present” Individuals Eligible under the Affordable Care Act – www.nilc.org/document.html?id=809
• Frequently Asked Questions: Exclusion of Youth Granted “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” from Affordable Health Care –www.nilc.org/document.html?id=802
• A Quick Guide to Immigrant Eligibility for ACA and Key Federal Means-tested Programs – www.nilc.org/document.html?id=844
• Typical Documents Used by Lawfully Present Immigrants – www.nilc.org/document.html?id=35
• Federal Guidance on Public Charge: When Is it Safe to Use Public Benefits? – www.nilc.org/document.html?id=164

This resource summarizes key points to bring up with your patients who have questions about ACA.

Families Talking Together (FTT) is an evidence based program designed to help Latino parents better communicate with their children and teens about healthy relationships, sex, contraceptive use, and preventing pregnancy.  Dr. Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, the creator of the program and co-director of the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health at New York University’s Silver School of Social work, along with Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and Visión y Compromiso, recently enlisted 25 promotores (community health workers) from three communities in California with high rates of teen pregnancy and high percentages of Latinos in an effort to help Latino parents address teen pregnancy. Over a four-day period, the 25 promotores were trained to deliver the FTT intervention.  In the next two months, the promotores will deliver the intervention to 250 families in California.  The National Campaign wishes to recognize and thank Dr. Guilamo-Ramos, PPLA, and Visión y Compromiso for their work on this innovative and important project. 

The FTT intervention—both the community health worker curriculum and parent materials---are available online, free of charge.  

Dramatic, visual and culturally relevant, fotonovelas are a successful means of communicating health information. The following fotonovela materials are downloadable.

Provided by Farmworker Justice 

Dramatic, visual and culturally relevant, fotonovelas are a successful means of communicating health information. The following fotonovela materials are downloadable. 
 

Provided by Farmworker Justice