Environmental Medicine Needs Assessments Among
Migrant Clinicians

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Subject:    Environmental Medicine Needs Assessments Among
Migrant Clinicians................
 Date:       Fri, 22 Jun 2001 16:50:28 -0400
From:        Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)

To:     Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
          Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation 

cc:    Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov

Dear Mr. Helliker,  I thought you might be interested in what David F. Goldsmith, MSPH, PhD noted in an e-mail that I received today:

Last fall the Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN) conducted a needs assessment among clinicians and clinic administrators seeking information about the most important environmental and occupational health (EOH) problems, and EOH training needs.  The authors, Amy Liebman and Susan Harper, reported that among the 164 responses, the top 5 EOH problems facing farmworkers were: 

• pesticides (59%); 

• water/sanitation and related conditions (45%); 

• other health concerns--diabetes, education, nonwater sanitation, hyperlipidemia, alcoholism & poverty (24%); 

• accidents & injuries (21%); and 

• musculoskelatal-ergonomics problems (21%).  

Their top 5 training needs were as follows: 

• pesticides (59%); 

• other--see above (40%); 

• water/sanitation conditions (34%); 

• PB poisoning (19%); and 

• skin/eye problems (14%).

Although respondents have used many types of educational media (such as audio/video tape, internet; live broadcasts, and CD Roms) they prefer live, in person workshops on specific topics or on multiple subjects.

The very awkward finding was that 83% (!) of respondents said they had had either 1 or zero training courses pertaining to EOH.  However, they had had some success in obtaining resources from local health departments, university and ag extension services, EPA, and other nonprofit groups (such as MCN).

More information on the survey is available at http://www.migrantclinician.org/pdfs/Streamline_MayJune01.pdf or directly from Ms. Liebman <aliebman@intercom.net>.

Well Mr. Helliker, your "registered" pesticide POISONS were on the top of the list of the most important environmental and occupational health (EOH) problems facing farmworkers and your "registered" POISONS were also number one on their list of training needs!  I would like to again point out that: "despite the fact pesticide (POISON) use increased 10-fold from 1945 to 1989, crop losses to insects and mites increased from 7-13%" (Pimentel 1997).  When will it be "legal" (in your opinion) to use safe and far more effective (unregistered) alternatives to actually control pest problems?

Respectfully,  Stephen L. Tvedten

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