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Perspectives of Mothers in Farmworker Households on Reducing the Take-Home Pathway of Pesticide Exposure

Health & Safety - Eye on Farmworker Health

Strong, LL, Starks HE, Meischke H, Thompson B (2009).  Perspectives of Mothers in Farmworker Households on Reducing the Take-Home Pathway of Pesticide Exposure.   Health Education & Behavior 36(5): 915-929.

Children of farmworkers face health risks due to chronic low-level exposure to pesticide residues carried home on the clothing, shoes and skin of their parents.  These risks include neurobehavioral deficits, respiratory and dermatological problems, and childhood cancers.  Even if farmworkers are advised on strategies to limit the amount of pesticide residues brought into the home, these precautions are often not taken.  This study sought to gain insight into the reasons for lack of compliance with pesticide safety practices by exploring the perspectives of farmworkers and their families on these behaviors and the reasons for or against adoption.

Thirty-seven Mexican-immigrant or Mexican-American women from farmworker households in the Lower Yakima Valley of Washington State were interviewed regarding the factors that influence their compliance with pesticide safety practices.  All women interviewed were mothers of children 6 years or younger and were married to or living with male farmworkers; 25 of the women were currently themselves farmworkers.  The study chose to focus on women because in the Mexican culture women tend to be the caretakers of the family and home and, in this role, often influence the behaviors of other family members.  The interviews took place between May and July 2005.

While 100% of the women interviewed reported to wash work clothes separately from household laundry, only 60% of the farmworker women and 50% of farmworker husbands of the non-farmworker women remove work shoes before entering the house.  A mere 35% of the farmworker women (but 58% of the farmworker husbands) shower immediately upon arriving home.  Of those who do not shower immediately, 62% of the farmworker women and 60% of the farmworker husbands do change clothes immediately upon arriving home.  Only 22% of the farmworker women who leave their children in day care while working reported to shower before picking up children from day care, however 44% of those who do not shower did report to remove their outer shirt before picking up children.

All women interviewed considered pesticides to be dangerous, and expressed awareness of the potential to bring pesticide residues home on their clothing.  But the women varied greatly in their knowledge of whether and how their children could be exposed to and harmed by these residues.  The women’s sense of their children’s susceptibility to harm was heightened by:  1) personal experiences with very young children who developed pesticide-related skin and respiratory problems;  2) interactions with health care providers who emphasize how taking safety precautions, even in the absence of symptoms, can prevent future health problems in children;  3) interactions with child educators, such as those of the Migrant Head Start program, who teach precautions to farmworker parents and encourage their implementation;  4) influence of relatives;  5) participation in a research study on this issue; and 6) information gained from local Spanish language radio and television programs.

Even when the women were highly motivated, social, cultural and physical factors interfered with their abilities to implement pesticide safety precautions.  The following issues emerged from the interviews:  1) Women not always had time for safety precautions due to their many duties and responsibilities at home in addition to work, in the face of a lack of assistance from their husbands.  2) Some husbands refused to collaborate with precaution practices.  3) There is a widespread belief in the Mexican culture that showering when the body is heated from exertion is unhealthful.  4) The inevitable exposure of children to pesticides caused by drift from nearby farms leaves some farmworker women with a sense of resignation that leads them to not take actions to restrict carrying further pesticide residues into the home.  5) There are no changing or showering facilities in the farmworkers’ workplace.  6) Time between the end of the women’s workday and closing time of day care facilities is limited.  7) Day care providers frequently insist that parents pick up their children directly on the way home from work, refusing to keep the children for the extra time necessary to shower and change clothes, even if paid extra.

Educators and health professionals should stress that pesticides can be present in the home even when no chemical odor is perceived and that even children without evident health symptoms may nevertheless be exposed to pesticide residues that can cause health issues in the future.  Awareness of the obstacles to safety practice implementation posed by the cultural beliefs, schedules, and life circumstances of farmworker women should guide health educators to discuss alternative precaution strategies.  Efforts should be made to encourage the establishment of changing and showering facilities in the workplace, and to ensure the implementation of worksite pesticide safety training that emphasizes the problem of pesticide residues inadvertently carried home.  Information in the form of a brochure that can be shared with all family members can be particularly useful.  Outreach programs should strive to sensitize and educate day care providers as to the dangers faced by children in farmworker households and the necessity of farmworker parents to take precautions before picking up their children.