Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2001 Jun;94(6):603-7.

Eye symptoms and use of eye protection among seasonal and migrant farmworkers

S A Quandt  1 , R C Elmore, T A Arcury, D Norton
Affiliations
  • PMID: 11440328

Eye symptoms and use of eye protection among seasonal and migrant farmworkers

S A Quandt et al. South Med J. 2001 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Farmworkers face an array of environmental and workplace hazards that pose risks of eye damage from accidents involving agricultural chemicals and equipment and from exposure to wind, dust, and ultraviolet rays. Eye safety risks are known among industrial and agricultural occupations, yet little is known about the prevalence of eye symptoms and use of eye protection among farmworkers.

Methods: A survey of 197 Latino farmworkers in North Carolina used self-report data to measure workers' prevalence of eye symptoms and eye protection use.

Results: Eye pain and redness after working all day in the field were reported by more than 40% of workers. Most (98.4%) reported not wearing sunglasses when working in the fields; reasons included lack of sunglasses and interference with field tasks.

Conclusions: Eye symptoms are prevalent in this population. Failure to use eye protection indicates the need for further education and training of Latino farmworkers and their employers about occupational risks to eyesight.

PubMed Disclaimer