Migrant farmworkers' housing conditions across an agricultural season in North Carolina

Background Several studies have documented poor housing conditions for farmworkers but none has focused on migrant farmworker housing, which is often provided as a condition of employment. Farmworker housing quality is regulated, but little documentation exists of compliance with regulations. Method...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of industrial medicine 2011-07, Vol.54 (7), p.533-544
Main Authors: Vallejos, Quirina M., Quandt, Sara A., Grzywacz, Joseph G., Isom, Scott, Chen, Haiying, Galván, Leonardo, Whalley, Lara, Chatterjee, Arjun B., Arcury, Thomas A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
agriculture
Agriculture - statistics & numerical data
Biological and medical sciences
Community-Based Participatory Research
Compliance
Confidence Intervals
employment
enforcement
Family Characteristics
Female
Health Surveys
Homeless Persons - statistics & numerical data
Housing
housing conditions
housing standards
Humans
inspection
Male
Medical sciences
migrant farmworker
Migrant workers
migrants
Miscellaneous
Models, Statistical
Multivariate Analysis
North Carolina
Occupational medicine
Odds Ratio
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
substandard housing
Surveys and Questionnaires
Transients and Migrants - statistics & numerical data
Young Adult
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Summary:Background Several studies have documented poor housing conditions for farmworkers but none has focused on migrant farmworker housing, which is often provided as a condition of employment. Farmworker housing quality is regulated, but little documentation exists of compliance with regulations. Methods A 2007 survey of 43 randomly selected farmworker camps and a 2008 survey of 27 camps randomly selected from the 2007 sample documented housing conditions via interviewer administered questionnaire and housing checklist. Results Substandard conditions are common in migrant housing. All camps had at least one exterior housing problem; 93% had at least one interior problem. Housing conditions worsen across the agricultural season. Characteristics including no residents with H2A visa and 11 or more residents are associated with poorer conditions. Conclusions Housing standards are not adequately enforced. An increase in post‐occupancy inspections and targeting camps with characteristics that place them at increased risk for substandard conditions are recommended. Am. J. Ind. Med. 54:533–544, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0271-3586
1097-0274
1097-0274
DOI:10.1002/ajim.20945