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Understanding Challenges to Well-Being among Latina FarmWorkers in Rural Idaho Using in an Interdisciplinary, Mixed-Methods Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Cynthia L. Curl

    (Department of Community and Environmental Health, College of Health Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA
    First authorship is shared equally among authors of this article; authors are listed alphabetically.)

  • Lisa Meierotto

    (School of Public Service, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA)

  • Rebecca L. Som Castellano

    (Department of Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify social, cultural and workplace-related risk factors affecting well-being among Latina farmworkers in rural Idaho. We recruited 70 Latina farmworkers from southwestern Idaho in 2019. We employed an inter-disciplinary, mixed-methods approach—including surveys, focus groups, interviews, and pesticide biomonitoring—to characterize multiple domains that influence well-being, including food security and access, housing conditions, social supports, access to medical care, and workplace safety. Six major themes emerged as primary challenges to Latina farmworkers’ well-being. In the public sphere, study participants identified these challenges as long working hours, concerns regarding pesticide exposure, and lack of enforcement of regulatory protections. Participants’ concerns regarding pesticide exposure were underscored by biological sampling results; multiple biomarkers of pesticide exposure were detected in all samples, with the highest concentrations measured in samples collected from women who reported mixing, loading or applying pesticides. Within the private sphere, food security and provisioning, childcare responsibilities, and social isolation were identified as significant challenges to well-being. Gender, ethnicity, and geography emerged as important, intersecting statuses that shaped the life experiences of these agricultural workers. Our findings suggest that gender may play a particularly critical role in the unique challenges facing Latina farmworkers. As a result, the services and regulations needed to support well-being in this population may be highly specific, and almost certainly include attention to work–family dynamics, pesticide exposure, and social connections.

Suggested Citation

  • Cynthia L. Curl & Lisa Meierotto & Rebecca L. Som Castellano, 2020. "Understanding Challenges to Well-Being among Latina FarmWorkers in Rural Idaho Using in an Interdisciplinary, Mixed-Methods Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2020:i:1:p:169-:d:469931
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Teresa Mares & Naomi Wolcott-MacCausland & Julia Doucet & Andy Kolovos & Marek Bennett, 2020. "Using chiles and comics to address the physical and emotional wellbeing of farmworkers in Vermont’s borderlands," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(1), pages 197-208, March.
    2. Lisa Meierotto & Teresa Mares & Seth M. Holmes, 2020. "Introduction to the symposium: Bienestar—the well-being of Latinx farmworkers in a time of change," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(1), pages 187-196, March.
    3. Lisa Meierotto & Rebecca Som Castellano, 2020. "Food provisioning strategies among Latinx farm workers in southwestern Idaho," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(1), pages 209-223, March.
    4. Nicolás López-Gálvez & Rietta Wagoner & Paloma Beamer & Jill De Zapien & Cecilia Rosales, 2018. "Migrant Farmworkers’ Exposure to Pesticides in Sonora, Mexico," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-16, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas A. Arcury & Sydney A. Smith & Jennifer W. Talton & Sara A. Quandt, 2022. "The Abysmal Organization of Work and Work Safety Culture Experienced by North Carolina Latinx Women in Farmworker Families," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-19, April.

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