Farmworker children are exposed to higher levels of pesticides than other children, because of their proximity to pesticide applications on nearby fields and because of the take-home exposures of their parents. The investigators propose to develop sustainable interventions that are aimed at primary prevention, i.e., to reduce pesticide exposure to farmworker children. Based on an initial needs and assets assessment, focus groups, and preliminary data collected for the CHAMACOS study, the investigators will focus intervention on the reduction of takehome pesticide exposure of farmworkers; thereby, reducing exposures to children in their home. Thirty to forty work crews containing approximately 180 eligible households located in the Salinas Valley will be randomly allocated to one of three intervention groups: Level 1, no intervention; Level II, educational component using Environmental Health Promoters; and Level III, personal protective clothing, and hand washing with warm water. Planning and development will be conducted in the first year. In the second year, Level II and III will receive the respective interventions over one growing season from April to October. A reduction in the measurement of pesticides in house dust and of pesticide metabolites in the urine of the children and workers as well as an increase in knowledge, attitude, and behavior about protections from pesticide exposure from baseline to 6 months later will indicate the efficacy of the interventions. A maintained reduction in knowledge attitude and behavior in the following season after the termination of the trial will indicate a sustained effect of the intervention. Lastly, the control group (Level I) will receive the most successful component in year 3. In year 4, the investigators will develop a manual to enable this and other agricultural communities to replicate the project, and in year 5, they will work with local and State authorities, and advocacy and community groups in the community to incorporate the findings into their policies and education programs.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01ES011352-03
Application #
6660794
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZES1-JPM-B (CB))
Program Officer
Srinivasan, Shobha
Project Start
2001-09-30
Project End
2006-07-31
Budget Start
2003-08-01
Budget End
2004-07-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$297,716
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Berkeley
Department
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
124726725
City
Berkeley
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94704
Salvatore, Alicia L; Castorina, Rosemary; Camacho, José et al. (2015) Home-based community health worker intervention to reduce pesticide exposures to farmworkers' children: A randomized-controlled trial. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 25:608-15
Bradman, Asa; Salvatore, Alicia L; Boeniger, Mark et al. (2009) Community-based intervention to reduce pesticide exposure to farmworkers and potential take-home exposure to their families. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 19:79-89
Salvatore, Alicia L; Chevrier, Jonathan; Bradman, Asa et al. (2009) A community-based participatory worksite intervention to reduce pesticide exposures to farmworkers and their families. Am J Public Health 99 Suppl 3:S578-81
Salvatore, Alicia L; Bradman, Asa; Castorina, Rosemary et al. (2008) Occupational behaviors and farmworkers'pesticide exposure: findings from a study in Monterey County, California. Am J Ind Med 51:782-94
Goldman, Lisa; Eskenazi, Brenda; Bradman, Asa et al. (2004) Risk behaviors for pesticide exposure among pregnant women living in farmworker households in Salinas, California. Am J Ind Med 45:491-9