Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Health Services

Advisor

Peter B. Anderson

Abstract

AbstractHispanic migrant farmworkers provide indispensable services to the United States, yet they are low-paid, uninsured employees working in extremely hazardous conditions. Public health and other healthcare professionals have worked to address the impact of pesticide exposure in the Hispanic migrant population. Although pesticides have been associated with various chronic diseases, limited evidence and studies have established an association between pesticide exposure and Diabetes Type 2 (DT2) among Hispanic migrant farmworkers. Guided by fundamental causes theory, this study addressed whether there is a relationship between agricultural pesticide exposure and DT2 among Hispanic migrant farmworkers in the United States who participated in the 2014 National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS). Fundamental causes theory was used for this study because it is a practical theory focused on socioeconomic factors such as education level, income, and access to healthcare resources and how they are associated with certain outcomes, in this study, the prevalence of DT2 among a certain population. Correlational study design was used to analyze quantitative secondary data from almost 70,000 farmworkers who took part in the NAWS. Descriptive statistics and binomial and multiple logistic regression tests were used to analyze the data. The multivariate logistic regression results indicated that DT2 in Hispanic farmworkers was associated with number of years doing farm work, education level, and access to healthcare services. Results indicated the need to improve working conditions and health outcomes for this vulnerable population. Addressing these risk factors could decrease the incidence of DT2 within the Hispanic migrant farmworker population in the United States and globally, thereby promoting positive social change.

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