National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA.
Central States Agricultural Safety and Health Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
J Agromedicine. 2023 Jan;28(1):45-52. doi: 10.1080/1059924X.2022.2148148. Epub 2022 Nov 23.
The future of agricultural work in the United States (U.S.) must account for at least two important trends: 1) the persistence of the industry being riddled with high rates of injury and illness and 2) the growing proportion of hired farmworkers compared to family farmworkers working in these dangerous environments. These workers confront structural disadvantages that impede social justice and prosperity. Social structures like policies, economic systems, institutions, and social hierarchies create health disparities, often along the lines of social categories. The result is an already dangerous industry with vulnerable workers facing unjust risks, especially those that are undocumented. Agricultural health and safety professionals and other stakeholders should engage structural competency curricula in order to increase awareness of impact of structures and be better positioned to improve farmworker health and wellbeing. Similar work has been successful in the training healthcare professionals, e.g. the Structural Competency Working Group (SCWG). New strategies are needed to improve farmworker wellbeing and retain an adequate agricultural workforce. A greater understanding of the social and structural concerns that farmworkers face is an important step towards occupational and social justice. It is also clear that it will require collaboration and community-based efforts creating a larger team of people using similar concepts related to the structural influences on whether health and wellbeing are distributed equitably. This work is being moved forward in healthcare, social work, worker organizations, and community-based initiatives. Agricultural health and safety professionals have a vital contribution to make if they join the ranks.
1）该行业持续存在高发病率和患病率的问题；2）与在这些危险环境中工作的家庭农场工人相比，受雇农场工人的比例不断增加。这些工人面临着阻碍社会公正和繁荣的结构性劣势。政策、经济体系、机构和社会等级等社会结构造成了健康差距，这些差距往往与社会类别有关。其结果是一个已经很危险的行业，脆弱的工人面临着不公正的风险，尤其是那些无证工人。农业健康和安全专业人员以及其他利益相关者应该参与结构能力课程，以提高对结构影响的认识，并更好地改善农场工人的健康和福利。类似的工作在培训医疗保健专业人员方面已经取得了成功，例如结构能力工作组 (SCWG)。需要采取新的策略来改善农场工人的福利并留住足够的农业劳动力。更深入地了解农场工人所面临的社会和结构性问题是实现职业和社会公正的重要一步。显然，这将需要协作和基于社区的努力，创建一个更大的团队，这些人使用与健康和福利是否公平分配相关的类似概念来应对结构的影响。医疗保健、社会工作、工人组织和基于社区的举措正在推进这项工作。如果农业健康和安全专业人员加入其中，他们将做出至关重要的贡献。
