ABSTRACT

Objectives This paper examines health profiles and work environments of hired U.S. farmworkers to understand the risk to essential workers and their employers, to the food supply, and to rural health systems such as what is possible with the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Large-sample statistical methods and proprietary data from the National Agricultural Workers Survey from 2000 to 2018 were used to assess factors associated with exposure to COVID-19 and vulnerabilities associated with medical complications. Results An aging workforce and increased access to health care within the crop worker population has been associated with a higher reported incidence of diabetes, asthma, and heart disease among workers over time. These trends confirm a vulnerable, but essential, workforce with higher risks for COVID-19 complications than would have been true of U.S. farmworkers as a group in earlier years. Conclusions Increasing age and disease burden in the U.S. agricultural labor force puts workers at increased risk for developing COVID-19 complications. Limits to field sanitation and housing quality inflate the probability of the development of COVID-19 hotbeds in rural communities that could further compromise the physical health of workers, the economic health of farm establishments, the agricultural supply-chain, and rural health capacities. Additional and more targeted worker protections may minimize public health and economic costs in the long run.

摘要

目标本文研究了美国雇用的农场工人的健康状况和工作环境，以了解对基本工人及其雇主，食品供应和农村卫生系统的风险，例如COVID-19大流行可能带来的风险。方法使用2000年至2018年国家农业工人调查的大样本统计方法和专有数据，评估与暴露于COVID-19相关的因素以及与医疗并发症相关的脆弱性。结果随着时间的推移，农作物工人中劳动力的老龄化和获得医疗服务的增加与工人中糖尿病，哮喘和心脏病的发病率增加有关。这些趋势证实，与美国农民工群体相比，COVID-19并发症的脆弱性，但必不可少的劳动力具有更高的风险。结论美国农业劳动力中年龄和疾病负担的增加使工人处于发展COVID-19并发症的风险更高。现场卫生设施和住房质量的限制提高了农村社区发展COVID-19温床的可能性，这可能进一步损害工人的身体健康，农场设施的经济健康，农业供应链和农村卫生能力。从长远来看，更多和更有针对性的工人保护措施可以最大程度地降低公共卫生和经济成本。