Delivering of quality healthcare to immigrant farm workers: Research

ISLAMABAD, July 19 (online): A study addresses the challenge of providing adequate healthcare to farmworkers and their families.

By the middle of the 20th century, the arrival of irrigation to marked the beginning of year-round agriculture and a thriving agricultural industry. By 2016, the industry was valued at $639 billion.

However, most of these crops come from the eastern part of the valley. This area is also home to farmworkers from poor socioeconomic backgrounds, who are migrant Latinx, many of whom are undocumented and underinsured.

A new study proposes a means of delivering effective healthcare to the underserved farmworkers and their families  through the use of mobile health clinics (MHCs).

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The potential impact of such clinics extends far beyond the Coachella Valley. Over 80% of farmworkers in the United States are Latinx, of which 95% are immigrants.

The researchers conducted the study in cooperation with Health to Hope, a federally qualified health center, and involved the creation of a pilot program consisting of three MHC units .

In designing their MHC system, the researchers conducted extensive focus-group discussions with community members to ascertain both their healthcare priorities and to learn about the obstacles they face. They asked residents to describe what they considered an ideal healthcare infrastructure for communities such as theirs.

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Each MHC opened near to its target community to make it easy for patients to stop in, avoiding issues surrounding the availability of public transportation. This geographical closeness also afforded clinic personnel a level of immersion in the community that helped them understand and serve the community’s needs.

One key obstacle to adequate care for farmworkers is that clinics are typically open only during standard workday hours when farmworkers are in the fields. The MHCs addressed this issue by configuring their hours of operation specifically for the convenience of these part-time, unsalaried workers who seldom receive paid leave or time off.

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