Lessons Learned from Data Collection as Health Screening in Underserved Farmworker Communities

• Published in: Progress in community health partnerships Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 93 - 100
• Main Authors: Flocks, Joan, Tovar, J. Antonio, Economos, Eugenia, Thien Mac, Valerie Vi, Mutic, Abby, Peterman, Katherine, McCauley, Linda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Johns Hopkins University Press 2018
• Subjects: Community-Based Participatory Research; Data Collection; Delivery of Health Care; Environmental Health; Farmers; Health Status Disparities; Humans; Mass Screening; Medically Underserved Area; Occupational Diseases; Renal Insufficiency; Vulnerable Populations
• ISSN: 1557-0541; 1557-055X; 1557-055X
• DOI: 10.1353/cpr.2018.0024

Girasoles is an academic-community partnership investigating heat-related illness (HRI) among farm-workers. An unexpected outcome is health screening and intervention for participants without access to health care. We present a case of renal failure in a farmworker, detected during data collection, to illustrate how academic-community collaboration can result in clinical benefits for study participants. Girasoles is examining physiologic responses to heat stress, associated vulnerability factors, and HRI symptoms. Data include blood pressure, fasting and non-fasting blood glucose, blood creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and urine dipsticks. Participants with out-of-range findings are referred to local health care providers. During two summers, health screenings of 192 workers resulted in 71 referrals (37%) for conditions to be rechecked and treated. One of these referrals involved chronic renal failure requiring extensive follow-up by research team members. The case of renal failure illustrates the value of collaborative research as a health intervention with vulnerable populations.