The health of California's immigrant hired farmworkers

Background Hispanic immigrant workers dominate California's hired farm workforce. Little is known about their health status; even less is known about those lacking employment authorization. Methods The California Agricultural Workers Health Survey (CAWHS) was a statewide cross‐sectional household survey conducted in 1999. Six hundred fifty‐four workers completed in‐person interviews, comprehensive physical examinations, and personal risk behavior interviews. Results The CAWHS PE Sample is comprised mostly of young Mexican men who lack health insurance and present elevated prevalence of indicators of chronic disease: overweight, obesity, high blood pressure, and high serum cholesterol. The self‐reported, cumulative, farm work career incidence of paid claims for occupational injury under workers compensation was 27% for males and 11% for females. Conclusions The survey finds elevated prevalence of indicators of chronic disease but lack of health care access. Participants without employment authorization reported a greater prevalence of high‐risk behaviors, such as binge drinking, and were less knowledgeable about workplace protections. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:387–397, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.