How-to Guide: Extracting Employment Data for Agricultural Injury Surveillance

Agriculture is among the most hazardous sectors in the economy; hired migrant and seasonal farmworkers (FWs) are at high risk of work related injury and illness (WRII). Public health surveillance—finding cases and uncovering exposure mechanisms and adverse health outcomes—is critical for prevention. Reporting and recordkeeping systems are useful tools for public health surveillance, but they are limited. To identify and mitigate workplace hazards, we are producing a series of guides to “find’ farmworkers in existing health and employment databases in Illinois. Our ultimate goal is to reduce the morbidity and mortality burden and improve the wellbeing of hired farmworkers.