Farmworker Hydration: Evaluating Water Access and the Acceptability of a Personal Hydration Device Intervention Abstract:

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Investigator: Michael Ladd, MD
Sponsor: Global Health Sciences Education

Location(s): United States

Description

Agricultural work is consistently ranked among the most dangerous occupations in the United States with work-related fatality rates that soar above those of all other jobs in the private industry. Moreover, a large portion of worker-related fatalities have been attributed to environmental heat exposure in US farms and agricultural sites. While OSHA-established rules and regulations do exist farm workers still experience chronic dehydration in the Central Valley which could lead to both acute and chronic renal illness. It is, therefore, crucial that steps be taken to create interventions that will help this vulnerable population avoid dehydration and heat-related illness. This study aims to take a first step by identifying the current barriers and facilitators to water access and evaluating the acceptability of a potential, personal hydration device intervention