TY - JOUR
T1 - Why do farmworkers delay treatment after debilitating injuries? Thematic analysis explains if, when, and why farmworkers were treated for injuries
AU - Thierry, Amy Danielle
AU - Snipes, Shedra Amy
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PY - 2015/2/1
Y1 - 2015/2/1
N2 - Background: Farmworkers who delay treatment after workplace injuries may increase injury severity and experience longer recovery times. To understand why farmworkers delay treatment we employed a mixed-methods analysis of 393 farmworker injury narratives from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS). Methods: First, open-ended injury narratives were coded for attitudes related to injury timing and delay. Next, narratives were compared against demographic survey attributes to assess contextual information and patterns linked to treatment timing. Results: Four treatment timings were identified: immediate medical treatment (57.9%), delayed medical treatment (18.2%) self- administered treatment (14.9%), and no treatment at all (8.9%). Delay was primarily attributed to attitudes prioritizing work over pain, and when workers were able to work despite injury. However, immediate treatment was sought when workers were completely debilitated and unable to work, when a supervisor was notified, or when exposed to pesticides during injury. Timing choices varied by education, gender and migrant status. Conclusions: Training on timely treatment, including notification of supervisors, may help reduce treatment delay for farmworkers.
AB - Background: Farmworkers who delay treatment after workplace injuries may increase injury severity and experience longer recovery times. To understand why farmworkers delay treatment we employed a mixed-methods analysis of 393 farmworker injury narratives from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS). Methods: First, open-ended injury narratives were coded for attitudes related to injury timing and delay. Next, narratives were compared against demographic survey attributes to assess contextual information and patterns linked to treatment timing. Results: Four treatment timings were identified: immediate medical treatment (57.9%), delayed medical treatment (18.2%) self- administered treatment (14.9%), and no treatment at all (8.9%). Delay was primarily attributed to attitudes prioritizing work over pain, and when workers were able to work despite injury. However, immediate treatment was sought when workers were completely debilitated and unable to work, when a supervisor was notified, or when exposed to pesticides during injury. Timing choices varied by education, gender and migrant status. Conclusions: Training on timely treatment, including notification of supervisors, may help reduce treatment delay for farmworkers.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921273579&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84921273579&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ajim.22380
DO - 10.1002/ajim.22380
M3 - Article
C2 - 25603940
AN - SCOPUS:84921273579
SN - 0271-3586
VL - 58
SP - 178
EP - 192
JO - American Journal of Industrial Medicine
JF - American Journal of Industrial Medicine
IS - 2
ER -