Ability to Trace Migrant Farmworkers Ten Years After Initial Identification in a Northern State (Wisconsin)
Author: Nordstrom, David L.
Date Published: 2001
Migrant farmworkers have rarely been included in epidemiological studies. To assess the feasibility of following farmworkers over extended periods, a critical feature of many designs, we attempted to trace a sample of Mexican-American farmworkers identified in a clinic in Wisconsin. We randomly chose 100 farmworkers from a migrant health center registration list for 1984-1985. In 1995, we searched recent clinic records, made telephone calls, and visited migrant camps to find these farmworkers in Wisconsin in 1995. In southwest Texas, we either located or ascertained information about the vital status of 25 of the 46 farmworkers (54%). Tracing efforts must include extensive contacts in farmworkers' home states and must incorporate a variety of information sources. Tracing farmworkers in epidemiological studies appears to be feasible but requires more intensive methods over longer periods of time than those used in this study. You can purchase the article here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11675629
Date Published: 2001
Migrant farmworkers have rarely been included in epidemiological studies. To assess the feasibility of following farmworkers over extended periods, a critical feature of many designs, we attempted to trace a sample of Mexican-American farmworkers identified in a clinic in Wisconsin. We randomly chose 100 farmworkers from a migrant health center registration list for 1984-1985. In 1995, we searched recent clinic records, made telephone calls, and visited migrant camps to find these farmworkers in Wisconsin in 1995. In southwest Texas, we either located or ascertained information about the vital status of 25 of the 46 farmworkers (54%). Tracing efforts must include extensive contacts in farmworkers' home states and must incorporate a variety of information sources. Tracing farmworkers in epidemiological studies appears to be feasible but requires more intensive methods over longer periods of time than those used in this study. You can purchase the article here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11675629
not available for distribution
