Study of Dental Needs, DMF, Deaf, and Tooth Eruption in Migrant Negro Children
Author: Bachand, Robert G.
Date Published: 1971
The inability of farm communities to meet their labor needs during the peak harvest season requires the use of seasonal farm workers. Since this need exists only for a short period of time in each area, the seasonal farm worker must migrate frequently, following the crops. In 1966, Monroe County, New York, had an estimated population of 1,250 migrants, mainly southern Negroes moving northward following the Atlantic Coast Stream, A small percentage were from Texas and Puerto Rico. The medical and dental problems of the seasonal worker and his family stem from a complex set of socioeconomic factors. A complete discussion of these factors is beyond the scope of this report. Suffice it to say that the migrant is impoverished, mobile, remote from society and lacking in health consciousness. Numerous authors have discussed these problems and a host of others confronting the migrant. However, only a few investigators have studied the migrant's dental problems per se. Thus, a survey of oral health status was initiated in order to assess the dental conditions and needs of the Negro migrant child.
Date Published: 1971
The inability of farm communities to meet their labor needs during the peak harvest season requires the use of seasonal farm workers. Since this need exists only for a short period of time in each area, the seasonal farm worker must migrate frequently, following the crops. In 1966, Monroe County, New York, had an estimated population of 1,250 migrants, mainly southern Negroes moving northward following the Atlantic Coast Stream, A small percentage were from Texas and Puerto Rico. The medical and dental problems of the seasonal worker and his family stem from a complex set of socioeconomic factors. A complete discussion of these factors is beyond the scope of this report. Suffice it to say that the migrant is impoverished, mobile, remote from society and lacking in health consciousness. Numerous authors have discussed these problems and a host of others confronting the migrant. However, only a few investigators have studied the migrant's dental problems per se. Thus, a survey of oral health status was initiated in order to assess the dental conditions and needs of the Negro migrant child.
