Biomedical subjects

A J Cravey

Publications and source records attributed to A J Cravey.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Farmworker reports of pesticide safety and sanitation in the work environment.

BACKGROUND: Migrant and seasonal farmworkers are at risk for occupational illnesses from pesticide exposure, and the effectiveness of pesticide safety regulations has not been evaluated. It is important to learn from farmworker safety experiences to develop effective measures to improve agricultural workplace safety. METHODS: Formative research included in-depth interviews with farmworkers, farmers, extension agents, and health care providers. Survey research included interviews with 270 minority farmworkers during 1998, and 293 during 1999. RESULTS: Farmworkers and farmers hold different beliefs concerning pesticide safety which affect sanitation practices. Farmworkers report in survey data that farmers do not adhere to regulations mandating training and basic sanitation facilities. CONCLUSIONS: Several points of intervention are available to improve pesticide safety and sanitation. Additional regulation by itself is not an advantageous starting point. The emphasis for intervention must include educating farmers as well as farmworkers.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2001

Developing socio-spatial knowledge networks: a qualitative methodology for chronic disease prevention.

Chronic disease is a significant and costly social problem. The burden is even more pronounced in communities with high rates of a particular chronic disease. Assessment of health belief systems and the local geographies of health beliefs can assist community health planners to create cost-effective strategic intervention programs where populations are at high risk for chronic diseases. In this paper, we elaborate the concept of socio-spatial knowledge networks (SSKNs) and demonstrate that SSKNs can be useful in informing the design of health care prevention strategies. In our project, we demonstrate how to identify key socio-spatial information for intervention strategies which will prevent or delay the onset of a particular chronic disease, Type 2 diabetes. Our qualitative framework allows us to determine which sites might be best characterized as socio-spatial knowledge network nodes for sharing diabetes information and which sites might be less suited to such exchange. Our strategy explores cross-cultural similarities, differences, and overlap in a multi-ethnic rural North Carolina context through simple techniques such as mapping social networks and sites in which people share their knowledge and beliefs about diabetes. This geographical analysis allows us to examine exactly where health knowledge coincides with other social support, and where such resources may be improved in a particular community. Knowing precisely what people in a community understand about a chronic disease and its treatment or prevention and knowing where people go to share that information helps to (1) identify strategic locations within a community for future interventions and, (2) evaluate the effectiveness of existing interventions. The geographical approach presented here is one that can serve other communities and health practitioners who hope to improve chronic disease management in diverse local environments.

Aged↗

PubMed1997

The politics of reproduction: households in the Mexican industrial transition.

"A household-level analysis helps to reveal the dynamics of a transition in Mexican industrial strategy from the state-led import substitution strategy dominant from 1930 to 1976 to the neoliberal one dominant today. The results suggest that gender restructuring was a crucial element of industrial restructuring. The new industrial strategy, which relies on substantial foreign investment and adopts many of the norms of maquiladora production, has reshaped the industrial household into a multitude of forms. In the case study presented, these range from huge company-run single-sex dormitories to a variety of extended family households. In these new households the gender division of domestic labor has been renegotiated. In-depth interviews reveal that such micro-scale struggles result from, and influence, the new factory regime."

Americas↗