Improving Access and Use of Health Care Services Through ESL Classes
Author: Ryder, E. Roberta
Date Published: 1998
Health care visits for prevention or early detection are not common among migrant farmworkers. Farmworkers generally live in an environment far below national standards for education, working conditions, income, housing, and health status. Clinic visits for routine examinations for prevention and early detection account for only 1.4% of all visits to migrant health clinics, 39% below the national average. Although most farmworkers are citizens or legal residents of the United States, many are foreign born, primarily from Mexico. The majority speak Spanish as their first language, with some monolingual , though this differs with age and number of years in farm work. English proficiency impacts one's ability to use the U.S. health care system. For example, Suarez found that the frequency of routine cervical screening which is integral to early detection of cervical cancer increases with English proficiency and use. Those who have provided English as Second Language classes to migrant farmworkers know of the challenges unique to the occupation of farmworker: frequent migration, lack of transportation, physically demanding labor, and up to 14 hour work days. Hardly the optimal conditions for learning a new language. It is much to the farmworkers' credit that in the face of these challenges, they are still anxious to learn English. So, while ESL classes are critical to improving long-term health care access and health status, what can be done in the meantime? And how can ESL classes contribute further?
Date Published: 1998
Health care visits for prevention or early detection are not common among migrant farmworkers. Farmworkers generally live in an environment far below national standards for education, working conditions, income, housing, and health status. Clinic visits for routine examinations for prevention and early detection account for only 1.4% of all visits to migrant health clinics, 39% below the national average. Although most farmworkers are citizens or legal residents of the United States, many are foreign born, primarily from Mexico. The majority speak Spanish as their first language, with some monolingual , though this differs with age and number of years in farm work. English proficiency impacts one's ability to use the U.S. health care system. For example, Suarez found that the frequency of routine cervical screening which is integral to early detection of cervical cancer increases with English proficiency and use. Those who have provided English as Second Language classes to migrant farmworkers know of the challenges unique to the occupation of farmworker: frequent migration, lack of transportation, physically demanding labor, and up to 14 hour work days. Hardly the optimal conditions for learning a new language. It is much to the farmworkers' credit that in the face of these challenges, they are still anxious to learn English. So, while ESL classes are critical to improving long-term health care access and health status, what can be done in the meantime? And how can ESL classes contribute further?
