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This study explores women's workforce participation as a potential agent for acculturation, and how it shapes conflict dynamics within intimate partnerships among Mexican immigrants. Analysis of in-depth interview data from 20 immigrant Mexican women and men believed to be in violent relationships indicated that women's employment following migration created several sources of intracouple conflict by challenging gender-based norms and behaviors surrounding the division of household labor, financial decision making, and how women and men interact within intimate relationships. Immigrant Latino women tended to embrace an assimilation strategy for acculturation, whereas immigrant Latino men embrace a separation strategy.

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This paper describes the explanatory model of green tobacco sickness (GTS) held by migrant and seasonal farmworkers in North Carolina and compares it with a research-based biobehavioral model. GTS is a form of acute nicotine poisoning that affects individuals who work in wet tobacco fields. It is characterized by nausea, vomiting, headache, and dizziness. There are no standard diagnostic criteria for GTS; clinicians must diagnose it based on a combination of symptoms and exposure risk. GTS resembles pesticide poisoning, but treatment is quite different. Many farmworkers in tobacco today are Spanish-speaking immigrants from Mexico with limited experience in tobacco work. In-depth interviews about GTS were conducted with 23 Hispanic farmworkers in central North Carolina to explore their understanding of the problem. Workers generally attributed the symptoms to other aspects of working in tobacco, such as pesticides or heat, rather than nicotine. They cited many of the same risk factors identified in the biobehavioral model, such as wet work conditions and inexperience with tobacco work. Prevention and treatment include a combination of exposure avoidance and common medications. The symptoms of most importance to farmworkers were insomnia and anorexia, both of which impaired the ability to work. This jeopardized their income, as well as their work security. If health care providers understand the explanatory model held by farmworkers, they will be more effective at diagnosing and treating GTS and be better prepared to teach patients how to prevent future episodes.

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BACKGROUND: Green tobacco sickness (GTS) is a highly prevalent occupational illness among tobacco workers. Working in wet tobacco is a major risk factor for GTS. Little is known about preventing GTS. This analysis examines possible GTS preventive measures. METHODS: Data were collected from 36 patients with GTS and 40 controls who presented at clinics in eastern North Carolina in 1999 and 2000. Each participant completed an interview that included questions about their personal characteristics, work characteristics, and GTS risk factors. RESULTS: Participants were Mexican men. Those with GTS were much less likely to have worn rain suits while working in wet tobacco and more likely to be in the United States on a work contract. CONCLUSIONS: Wearing a rain suit while working in wet tobacco can significantly reduce the risk of GTS among tobacco workers. Care must be taken that farmworkers do not have heat stress from wearing rain suits.

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Migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States are now overwhelmingly immigrants from Mexico. Pesticide exposure among these farmworkers is a major occupational health concern; however, little research has considered the agricultural pesticide use and safety experiences of these workers in their communities of origin. This analysis uses survey data collected by the PACE project to delineate the farming and pesticide use experiences of Mexican-born farmworkers in North Carolina. Over 80 percent of the 277 Mexican-born farmworkers had done agricultural work in Mexico, including work on their own farms (93%) and as hired farm labor (35%). Almost two-thirds of those farmworkers with farming experience had used pesticides, but only about one-third of those who used pesticides had received pesticide safety training or information. Most of those who used pesticides had used some form of safety equipment. Those who had worked as hired farm labor in Mexico were more likely to have used pesticides and safety equipment, and to have received safety training and information. Those who spoke an indigenous language at home rather than Spanish were less likely to have used pesticides and to have received safety training and information. These results demonstrate that farmworkers coming to the U.S. from Mexico arrive with a variety of experiences with pesticide usage and pesticide safety training. Such experiences form the framework within which farmworkers understand the relationship of pesticide usage to human health. It is important for occupational health and safety programs directed to farmworkers in the U.S. to consider the experiences these workers bring from their communities of origin.