Citation

Summers P, Quandt SA, Talton JW, Galván L, Arcury TA. Am. J. Public Health 2015; 105(12): 2570-2575.

Affiliation

Phillip Summers and Thomas A. Arcury are with the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Center for Worker Health, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC. Sara A. Quandt is with the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Public Health Sciences, Center for Worker Health, Wake Forest School of Medicine. Jennifer W. Talton is with the Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine. Leonardo Galván is with the North Carolina Farmworkers Project, Benson, NC.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2015.302797

PMID

26469658

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: We used geographic information systems (GIS) to delineate whether farmworker labor camps were hidden and to determine whether hidden camps differed from visible camps in terms of physical and resident characteristics.

METHODS: We collected data using observation, interview, and public domain GIS data for 180 farmworker labor camps in east central North Carolina. A hidden camp was defined as one that was at least 0.15 miles from an all-weather road or located behind natural or manufactured objects. Hidden camps were compared with visible camps in terms of physical and resident characteristics.

RESULTS: More than one third (37.8%) of the farmworker labor camps were hidden. Hidden camps were significantly larger (42.7% vs 17.0% with 21 or more residents; P ≤ .001; and 29.4% vs 13.5% with 3 or more dwellings; P = .002) and were more likely to include barracks (50% vs 19.6%; P ≤ .001) than were visible camps.

CONCLUSIONS: Poor housing conditions in farmworker labor camps often go unnoticed because they are hidden in the rural landscape, increasing farmworker vulnerability. Policies that promote greater community engagement with farmworker labor camp residents to reduce structural vulnerability should be considered. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print October 15, 2015: e1-e6. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302797).

Language: en