Arcury Thomas A, Sandberg Joanne C, Mora Dana C, Talton Jennifer W, Quandt Sara A
a Department of Family and Community Medicine , Wake Forest School of Medicine , Winston-Salem , North Carolina , USA.
b Center for Worker Health, Wake Forest School of Medicine , Winston-Salem , North Carolina , USA.
J Agromedicine. 2016;21(3):253-8. doi: 10.1080/1059924X.2016.1180272.
Farmworkers in the United States experience high rates of injury and illness but have limited access to conventional health care. Farmworkers are often from countries that have active traditional healers, so understanding the use of traditional healers among farmworkers is important. This pilot study (1) describes the use of traditional healers among farmworkers and (2) compares the use of traditional healers by farmworkers with other Latino immigrants. Interviews were conducted in 2015 with 100 Mexican farmworkers (80 men, 20 women) and 100 Mexican immigrant non-farmworkers (50 men, 50 women) in North Carolina. Most farmworkers (78%) had H-2A visas. More farmworkers (64%) than non-farmworkers (41%) had ever used traditional healers. Among farmworkers, 21% (vs. 11% of non-farmworkers) had used curanderos, 54% (vs. 32%) sobadores, 43% (vs. 21%) hueseros, 11% (vs. 13%) yerberos, and 4% (vs. 6%) espiritualistas. More farmworkers had used a traditional healer in the past year (16% vs. 8%), but fewer had used this healer in the United States (4% vs. 8%). Among all participants, males (58.5%) more than females (41.4%) (P = .0214), and returning to Mexico annually (64.1%) more than who do not (45.1%) (P = .0086) had ever used any traditional healer. This pilot study indicates the need for further research that documents the use of traditional healers by Latino farmworkers with diverse visa statuses, from countries in addition to Mexico, and in other regions in the United States. This research should also delineate the specific illnesses and injuries for which Latino farmworkers use traditional healers.
美国农场工人受伤和患病的比例很高，但他们获得传统医疗保健的机会有限。农场工人往往来自有活跃传统治疗师的国家，因此了解农场工人对传统治疗师的使用情况很重要。这项试点研究（1）描述了农场工人对传统治疗师的使用情况，（2）比较了农场工人与其他拉丁裔移民对传统治疗师的使用情况。2015年，对北卡罗来纳州的100名墨西哥农场工人（80名男性，20名女性）和100名墨西哥移民非农场工人（50名男性，50名女性）进行了访谈。大多数农场工人（78%）持有H-2A签证。使用过传统治疗师的农场工人（64%）比非农场工人（41%）更多。在农场工人中，21%（而非农场工人为11%）使用过curanderos，54%（非农场工人为32%）使用过sobadores，43%（非农场工人为21%）使用过hueseros，11%（非农场工人为13%）使用过yerberos，4%（非农场工人为6%）使用过espiritualistas。在过去一年中，使用过传统治疗师的农场工人更多（16%对8%），但在美国使用过传统治疗师的农场工人较少（4%对8%）。在所有参与者中，男性（58.5%）使用过任何传统治疗师的比例高于女性（41.4%）（P = 0.0214），每年返回墨西哥的人（64.1%）使用过任何传统治疗师的比例高于不返回的人（45.1%）（P = 0.0086）。这项试点研究表明，需要进一步开展研究，记录不同签证身份、来自墨西哥以外国家以及美国其他地区的拉丁裔农场工人对传统治疗师的使用情况。这项研究还应明确拉丁裔农场工人使用传统治疗师治疗的具体疾病和损伤。
