A tremendous gap exists today. Mr. Chairman. between our health knowledge and its application to the health needs of our. migrant farmworkers and their families. These peoplebecause of inadequate housing. poor sanitation. substandard working conditions. and a lack of immunization against diseasegenerally have a greater need for health care than our population as a whole. At the same time. migrant farmworkers are in the lowest economic strata of our society and commonly are not in a position to afford the care they need. In addition. because of their mobility. many communities reject responsibility for their health needs. This matter is a problem in my own State of California. but it is more than the problem of a single State. a single locality. or a single community. Domestic agricultural migrant workers and their families comprise a population of approximately 1 million persons. These men and women and ch ildren live and work for varying periods of time each year in about 1.000 of our Nations counties. The major impact falls in 31 States. but nearly all are affected in some degree.
Identified stereotypes
Migrant farmworkers are described as having greater need for health care than the population as a whole due to inadequate housing, poor sanitation, substandard working conditions, and a lack of immunization against disease.