Citation

Arnold TJ, Arcury TA, Sandberg JC, Quandt SA, Talton JW, Mora DC, Kearney GD, Chen H, Wiggins MF, Daniel SS. New Solut. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Baywood Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1048291120920571

PMID

32349618

Abstract

Children as young as ten are legally hired for farm work. In North Carolina, many of these hired children are Latinx; they often work long hours during hot and humid summer conditions. Heat-related illness occurs along a continuum of severity ranging from heat cramps and rashes to heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which can be fatal. The literature on the negative health effects of occupational heat exposure is growing; however, few studies have examined this exposure and health outcomes among child agricultural workers. To understand Latinx child farmworkers' experiences of working in heat, we conducted in-depth interviews (n = 30). To estimate the prevalence of heat-related illness symptoms and associated factors, we conducted survey interviews (n = 165). Heat-related illness is common among these child farmworkers. While children often understand the dangers of working in heat, work organization often prevents their taking precautions. Formal workplace protections to prevent heat-related illness are limited.

Language: en

Keywords

Latino/Hispanic; agricultural health; child labor; health disparities; health equity; heat-related illness; migrant and seasonal farmworkers; occupational health