Research projects and studies conducted by the Pacific Northwest Agricultural Health and Safety Center at the University of Washington.

To address the critical need for relevant information about the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker (MSFW) population nationwide, the Migrant Clinicians Network developed an innovative project to test a set of methodologies for collecting and analyzing MSFW data. The methods used in this project will enhance planning capability for health services by gathering up-to-date, locally specific descriptive profiles of the MSFW population eligible for health care services and provide a mechanism to determine future trends that can affect health services delivery and formulation of health care plans, staffing decisions, outreach activities, preventive care emphases, budgeting and appropriate service hours. The methodologies tested employ systems that can be self-sustaining, providing continual, timely updates at a local level where such information is most useful. The systems foster collaboration between local service providers, encouraging Migrant Health Centers (MHCs) and others who serve the MSFW population to work together to share information which can be beneficial to all.

A broken system leaves immigrant workers invisible -- and in danger. High Country News, 8/2009

The following report summarizes research conducted by the Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN) in the summer of 2008. The report is an effort to identify state programs that address the immunization needs of adults and migrant and seasonal farmworkers across the country.

Residential lead (Pb) contamination, resulting from decades-long use of leaded gasoline and lead-based paint, is likely to be present in soils in most urban areas. A screening level sampling effort demonstrated that Lubbock, Texas, USA, like other cities of its age and size, has areas of elevated soil Pb.

Describes the adverse health effects of lead in workers with blood-lead levels of 5-10 ug/dL and recommend changing OSHA’s medical removal trigger of 60 ug/dL. 

This site is presented as a free medical Spanish immersion, with vocabulary including greetings, history, examination, and everyday speech, all with translation and audio. It is designed to be helpful for a variety of medical personnel. In addition to introducing Spanish medical terms, this site will hopefully improve fluency and even cultural competency.

Each dialogue consists of a few statements from the patient, the patient's family, and healthcare providers. Click to hear my voice and pronunciation. Then, repeat aloud everything you hear. When listening to Spanish medical phrases, feel free to use the pause button, and, of course, replay the recordings when needed.

This reports outlines the findings of a survey designed to document the health problems of African-American, Hispanic, and Haitian former Lake Apopka farmworkers, many of whom are experiencing significant and life-threatening health problems which they believe to be connected to their exposure to multiple sources of environmental contamination.

The Migrant Clinicians Network’s (MCN) mission is to promote the health of farmworkers by providing a framework for professional development to clinicians and other healthcare providers. MCN responds to the expressed needs of clinicians in the field who serve farmworker families, the issues voiced by farmworkers themselves as they are interviewed and known by the representative members of MCN, and the strategic initiatives of the federal and public health communities as they impact migrant health. Monographs are one mechanism used by MCN to address gaps between medical care knowledge and migrant health practice. Acute, chronic, and preventive care needs of farmworkers require the clinician and health care community to recognize interrelationships between biological risk factors, environmental exposures, social and cultural components, political and economic realities, and occupational characteristics.