Migrant Farmworkers in Florida
- Maiya Varma
- Feb 19, 2023
- 2 min read
Poverty, food insecurity, and limited access to dental care, work synergistically to exacerbate poor health conditions. The oral health syndemic among migrant farmworkers in Florida demonstrates this issue amongst this vulnerable population. One worker, Xiomara, emphasizes the difficulty of accessing dental care and providing for herself and her family. The consistent pattern of intense labor and tight growing seasons limits migrant workers from gaining basic necessities, highlighting the role poverty plays.
The socioeconomic status of workers makes food insecurity rates higher and puts dental care on the backburner, while overall health is hindered and compromised. Because of the low wage lifestyle, migrant workers are excluded from dental services and legal status makes accessing healthcare services very challenging.
Oral healthcare affects the whole body and impacts ones nutrional needs. Having poor oral health can contribute to nutritional deficiencies. This further worsens the poor health conditions of workers and their families, and creates a continuous cycle of oral and overall health issues.
Socioeconomic status also worsens the opportunity to visit dentists, as the data demonstrates for migrant workers. Only 35 percent of migrants reported visiting the dentist in the past year. Another 14 participants (35 percent) had been to the dentist between one and five years and the remaining participants (30 percent) had either never been to the dentist, could not remember their last visit, or had been to the dentist more than five years ago.
Between food insecurity and a lack of basic resources such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, migrant workers are placed in a position where they have to choose between keeping their family alive or maintaining their health. By analyzing food security data we can better understand how to manage these issues to prevent migrant farm workers and their family from choosing between health and survival.
Kline, Nolan. ““THERE'S NOWHERE I CAN GO TO GET HELP, AND I HAVE TOOTH PAIN RIGHT NOW”: THE ORAL HEALTH SYNDEMIC AMONG MIGRANT FARMWORKERS IN FLORIDA.” American Anthropological Association, 12 November 2012, https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/napa.12010.
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