Health and mortality of migrant farm children

This research examines preventive medical care, morbidity and mortality among children of migrant agricultural workers using a representative sample of migrant families in Wisconsin. Our findings support the view that this group is at substantially greater risk of health problems and early mortality than the general population. Fewer than half of migrant children under age 16 received the recommended annual physical checkup. Only one-third of migrant children under age 16 had received an annual dental checkup compared to 50% of children in the total population. A rough comparison between levels of chronic health conditions for migrant children and those reported for children in a national survey suggest that the incidence of chronic conditions is several times greater among migrant children. Childhood mortality appears to be 1.6 times higher than in the U.S. population. In analyzing variation in preventive care for migrant children, younger children are more likely to receive checkups, while older children are more likely to receive immunizations. In interpreting this finding, we suggest distinguishing between two types of preventive care: one under the direct control of the family, and the other controlled by the schools. Since immunizations are given to migrant children in schools, the older or school-age children are more likely to be immunized. In assessing reports of chronic conditions, we noted that mothers who spoke English were more likely to report that a child had a chronic condition. One possible interpretation is that women who do not speak English may not label various childhood conditions as chronic illnesses. Since a large proportion of women spoke only Spanish, the chronic conditions may be substantially under-reported among migrant children. The analysis of childhood mortality shows the level of mortality to be proportionally lower among women who spoke English, and higher among those who gave birth to a low birth weight child. But surprisingly, the most important characteristic related to loss of children was whether or not a mother smoked. Using smoking as one example of high risk behavior, we suggest that future studies should give closer attention to the impact of parental risk-taking behaviors on childhood morbidity and mortality experiences.