Analysis of Health Outcomes: Migrant Farmworker Children in Georgia

This report analyzes the health status of children of migrant farmworkers in Moultrie, Georgia, based on the article by Nichols, Stein, and Wold (2014). The study highlights the poor health outcomes experienced by these children, including higher prevalence rates of obesity, anemia, elevated blood pressure, and stunted growth compared to national averages. The report emphasizes the critical role of migrant farmworkers in the agricultural industry and the health disparities they face, often stemming from economic and social factors. The data was collected through the Farm Worker Family Health Program (FWFHP). The findings underscore the need for further investigation into the underlying causes of these health issues and the implementation of effective strategies to improve the well-being of migrant farmworker families. The study emphasizes the significance of addressing health inequities within this vulnerable population, highlighting the need for interventions to improve their overall health and well-being.

NAME OF THE STUDENT
NAME OF THE UNIVERSITY
Nichols, M., Stein, A. D., & Wold, J. L. (2014).
Health status of children of migrant farm workers:
farm worker family health program, Moultrie,
Georgia. American journal of public
health, 104(2), 365-370.

This article focuses on the issue of migrant farmworkers in Moultrie,
Georgia. There are 26% of crop workers in the United States and
around 61% of the crop workers are below the poverty line. Most of
them are from Mexico without a proper standard of living and a
minimum income. They are a target of occupational hazards such as
physical labor, contact with poisonous plants and chemicals,
pesticide related illness, musculoskeletal and respiratory illness,
extreme weather conditions, compromised reproductive and oral
health. Similarly, their children also go through these health
complications including food insecurity. Medical practitioners rate
these children 2 to 3 times more vulnerable to poor health outcomes
such as diarrhea, nutritional deficiency, hearing loss and dental
problems. The major issue of the article is the ill health status of
migrant children of the farmers.
SCOPE

RATIONALE
This study is important because farmers are the core
component of the agricultural industry in Georgia. This
industry majorly relies on the manual labor of these farmers
but they do not get the due credit because they are migrants
who are known as ‘the Citizen’s Other’. Their health issues
are not considered as they are from Latin America. Georgia
has a robust agricultural industry and one riverside county
consist of approximately 600 farms and all of them rely on
the labor of migrant farmers, which affects the health of
their children.
This study is chosen for the same reason that their health
matters for the public because without them the agriculture
industry will not flourish.

 The participants were children between the ages of 0-16 years and they
were a mixed population of Mexican and Hispanic.
 The data was collected through Farm Worker Family Health Program
(FWFHP), which is a 2 week cultural immersion service learning.
 Undergraduate students nurses took the height and weight of these
children including blood pressure and hemoglobin. They had their inclusion
and exclusion criteria.
 The data was compared with the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (NHANES) to check the prevalence of obesity or
elevated blood pressure.
 Few limitations were found in the comparison of anemia in those children.
METHODS

FINDINGS
 The result of this study showed that the prevalence of
overweight was 13.5% to 21.8%, obesity was 24%-37.4%,
elevated blood pressure was 4.1%-20.2%, anemia was
10.1% to 23.9% and stunting was 1% to 6.4%.
 The comparisons showed that the children FWFHP had a
higher prevalence of obesity than the other comparison
groups, and children between 6-12 years of age had a
higher prevalence of blood pressure than other comparison
groups. The older children of FWFHP were more anemic
than the US and Mexican children. Similarly, children in
FWFHP were more vulnerable to stunted growth when
compared to the children of US and Mexican American.

 This article showed that the children of migrant
farmworkers were susceptible to many life threatening
diseases as they are not given importance due to the social
framework. The economic backwardness is one of the
determinants of their health, which has a poor outcome.
 The prevalence of obesity, anemia, hypertension is higher
in migrant children than the non-migrant children of United
States. There is a need for investigating the underlying
causes and identifying the effective implementation and
strategy plan for the migrant groups.
LESSONS LEARNED

 Nichols, M., Stein, A. D., & Wold, J. L. (2014). Health status of children of
migrant farm workers: farm worker family health program, Moultrie,
Georgia. American journal of public health, 104(2), 365-370.
REFERENCE