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USA Multi-professional Student Led Community Health Fairs: A Survey of Hispanic Farm-workers Health Issues in the USA

Pamela Cromer, Andrew Mazzoli, Debbie Layman, Carol Hanes, David Thompson, Thomas V Joshua, Stephen W Looney, Allyson Wilson, Jimmy George, Chelsey C Lemons

Background: The goal of Georgia Regents University’s Annual Costa Layman Health Fair is to provide meaningful supervised community outreach training opportunities for student nurses, allied health and dental students to engage a workforce of predominantly Hispanic farmworkers in health care awareness, and health promotion/disease prevention.
Aim: This study sought to identify the health screening results and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) prevalence among approximately 400 farmworkers found during health screenings at a large commercial horticultural farm in the southeastern USA.
Method: This is a five year retrospective analysis of the annual student nurse’s recordings/power point presentations of screening results at worksite health fairs in which a customized health screening tool, the Stop-Bang Questionnaire, and the standard pulmonary function test graphics were utilized to identify the health issues and referral rates of farm-workers. Using standard methods based on binomial distributions, true referral rates were constructed at the 95% confidence intervals.
Findings: An aggregate of approximately 1200 total health screenings were performed. The percentage of employees recommended for referral care was highest for hypertension, elevated glucose, elevated lipids, and dental care. Sleep apnea rates were surprisingly low.
Conclusion: Valuable information and a better appreciation for the farmworker’s health were gained by students. Increased awareness of health risks, improved ability to navigate the USA healthcare delivery system, and exposure to concepts of health promotion/prevention among the farmworkers was realized.