Ascertainment of pesticide exposures of migrant and seasonal farmworker children: Findings from focus groups

Background To design questionnaires for epidemiologic research among childr en of migrant farmworkers, researchers need to consider ways to best solici t information about pesticide exposures. Methods Bilingual facilitators conducted five focus groups with either migr ant farmworker mothers or their children (age range 8-16 years) in southern Texas and northeastern Colorado. Guided questions were used to assess acti vities of migrant farmworker children and the ways to best elicit informati on about exposure to pesticides. Results Participants reported a large number of activities that may potenti ally expose children to pesticides through both direct and indirect routes. Prompting, indirect questions about chemical use, and use of local and tru sted facilitators increased information elicited from focus group participa nts. Conclusions These focus groups helped to provide information for developing questionnaire items related to pesticide exposure among migrant farmworker children, and highlighted the importance of using bilingual community inte rviewers and including children as respondents. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.