Lee Joseph G L, Roby Mary, Cofie Leslie E, LePrevost Catherine E, Harwell Emery L, Reed Elisabeth C, Nieuwsma Julianna, Bloss Jamie E, Anderson Griffin C, Santillán-Deras Jocelyn R, Moore Modjulie A, Ketterman Elizabeth, Russell Roger G
Department of Health Education and Promotion, College of Health and Human Performance, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.
Now with Department of Implementation Science, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
Public Health Rep. 2024 Nov 19:333549241295632. doi: 10.1177/00333549241295632.
Migrant and seasonal farmworkers work in rural areas where internet access may be limited. We assessed internet access, cost of access, and devices available to farmworkers through a statewide survey in North Carolina.
During the 2023 agricultural season, we surveyed 1034 migrant and seasonal farmworkers during routine outreach visits in partnership with community health workers employed by 8 community health centers or by nonprofit health service agencies serving farmworkers in North Carolina. We surveyed participants aged ≥18 years by using time-venue sampling and surveyed up to 5 farmworkers at migrant housing locations. We weighted participants to the total population of farmworkers living in surveyed housing and calculated frequencies and percentages of internet access, internet speed, internet cost, available internet devices, and awareness and use of the Affordable Connectivity Program-a program that was run from 2021 through May 31, 2024, by the Federal Communications Commission to make internet access more affordable in the United States. We assessed predictors of internet access and ability to use online videos by using regression models.
Participants were predominantly Spanish-speaking men who lived in housing provided by farm owners. Among participants, 9.8% had internet connections with a cable or digital subscriber line, and 23.5% did not have consistent internet access. Most participants used cellular network internet (84.9%) and mobile phone devices (93.9%). Even among farmworkers who lived in their housing year-round, few had heard of (34.4%), applied to (4.8%), or used (2.0%) the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Interventions are needed to increase internet access and digital inclusion for migrant and seasonal farmworkers in North Carolina. Development of state and county broadband infrastructure should consider farmworker housing.
移民和季节性农场工人在农村地区工作，那里的互联网接入可能有限。我们通过在北卡罗来纳州进行的一项全州范围的调查，评估了农场工人的互联网接入情况、接入成本以及可用设备。
在2023年农业季节期间，我们与北卡罗来纳州8个社区卫生中心或为农场工人服务的非营利性卫生服务机构雇佣的社区卫生工作者合作，在常规外展访问期间对1034名移民和季节性农场工人进行了调查。我们采用时间地点抽样法对年龄≥18岁的参与者进行调查，并在移民住房地点对多达5名农场工人进行了调查。我们将参与者的权重调整为居住在被调查住房中的农场工人总人口，并计算了互联网接入、网速、互联网成本、可用互联网设备以及对“经济适用连接计划”（该计划由联邦通信委员会从2021年运行至2024年5月31日，旨在使美国的互联网接入更经济实惠）的知晓和使用情况的频率及百分比。我们使用回归模型评估了互联网接入的预测因素以及观看在线视频的能力。
参与者主要是讲西班牙语的男性，他们居住在农场主提供的住房中。在参与者中，9.8%通过有线电视或数字用户线路连接互联网，23.5%没有稳定的互联网接入。大多数参与者使用蜂窝网络互联网（84.9%）和移动电话设备（93.9%）。即使是全年居住在自己住房中的农场工人，也很少有人听说过（34.4%）、申请过（4.8%）或使用过（2.0%）“经济适用连接计划”。
需要采取干预措施，以增加北卡罗来纳州移民和季节性农场工人的互联网接入和数字包容性。州和县级宽带基础设施的发展应考虑农场工人的住房。
