| An estimated 10 million Mexican born migrant farm workers reside in the United States, engaging in work that exposes them to injury and disease. Yet many have limited access to preventative or intervention-based health care. Cultural differences also exist between health care providers, public health officials, and migrant farm workers, and may generate misunderstandings and further limit access to care. The purpose of this study was to investigate cultural barriers that may inhibit Mexican born migrant farm workers from seeking or accepting health care. The cultural competency concept provided the conceptual framework for this ethnographic study. The Anderson Health Behavior Model guided the development of the research design and the instruments developed for the data gathering process. Clinic observations, guided interviews, and cultural competency assessments were conducted in order to gather applicable data for this research. These data were then analyzed using the ethnographic techniques of coding, data grouping and the identification of emerging themes. The findings from this research indicated that cultural barriers, primarily language and the use of folk remedies, influenced the heath-seeking behaviors in this population. The social change implications of this study include providing a greater awareness of the culturally based healthcare needs of Mexican born migrant farm workers as well as the importance of delivering culturally competent healthcare to this population. Such awareness will benefit health care professionals, public health professionals, and policy makers as they develop applicable policies for healthcare delivery to Mexican born migrant farm workers. |
