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Limited research has examined the health implications for youth working in United States tobacco production. Agricultural labor is hazardous, yet youth are legally permitted to be hired as farmworkers. Many youth farmworkers are members of the vulnerable Latino farmworker community. In North Carolina, youth work in many agricultural crops including tobacco. A sample of 152 Latino youth farmworkers ages 12–20 years (M = 16.7, SD = 2.0) across 19 North Carolina counties completed a cross-sectional survey and provided saliva samples in 2019. Surveys detailed personal and work characteristics. Saliva samples were analyzed for salivary cotinine and reported in geometric means (ng/ml). Bivariate associations were used to delineate the relationship between personal and work characteristics with salivary cotinine levels. Cotinine levels ranged from 0.05 to 313.5 ng/ml. Older age and working in tobacco were significantly associated with higher salivary cotinine levels. For every one year increase in age, there was a 31% increase in mean salivary cotinine levels (b = 1.31; 95% CI = [1.15–1.50]; p <.0001). Youth tobacco workers' (n = 15) salivary cotinine levels were 890% higher than those not working in tobacco (n = 137) (13.26, 95% CI = [5.95–29.56] ng/ml compared to 1.34, 95% CI = [1.03–1.75] ng/ml (p <.0001)). Latino youth tobacco workers are exposed to nicotine through their work. This exposure presents serious risk of Green Tobacco Sickness (acute nicotine poisoning) and other health concerns given the growing evidence for risk of epigenetic changes negatively affecting long-term cognitive function. Policy is urgently needed to protect this vulnerable population of adolescent workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of the present study were to describe civic attitudes and behaviors among Latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina, examine civic outcomes across relevant demographic characteristics, and discuss the implications for research on sociopolitical development among Latinx child farmworkers and for developmental theory. Descriptive statistics (count, percent, or mean, standard deviation as appropriate) were calculated for demographic and civic variables. Associations between the demographic variables and the four civic summary variables were calculated using Generalized Linear Models, the Kruskal–Wallis test, t-tests, or Chi-Square tests. Latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina (N = 169; ages 11–19, Mage = 15.8, 62.7% boys) endorsed relatively high levels of beliefs that society is fair and connections/efficacy in their communities. They reported relatively low involvement in volunteering and political activity. Future work should examine how the daily lives and experiences of child farmworkers inform their developing ideas about civic life in the US and their behavioral participation as they mature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural labor is extremely hazardous, yet young children are legally permitted to work on farms. This paper contextualizes and describes Latinx hired child farmworkers' stated reasons for working. We conducted a mixed-methods study using in-depth interviews (n = 30) and survey interviews (n = 202) with Latinx child farmworkers aged 10 to 17 in North Carolina. Our qualitative thematic analysis identified children's salient reasons for working, including supporting family, contextual factors that lead to farm work, and occupying summer time. Statistical analysis showed that children's primary reasons for working included buying clothes (91.1%) and school supplies (64.7%), with few differences by gender, age, or other characteristics. The findings demonstrate that most Latinx children view farm work as a necessary but temporary experience that financially supports their families. We discuss the implications for protecting Latinx child workers by reducing their structural vulnerability in order to facilitate healthy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine Internet use and eHealth literacy among older adults (aged 55+ years) who were patients at clinics serving low-income populations. Participants included 200 minority and White adults who completed interviews based on a technology acceptance conceptual model. A total of 106 participants (53.0%) used the Internet; utilization was associated with personal characteristics (age, ethnicity, education, poverty), computer characteristics (number of e-devices, computer stress), social support (marital status), and health knowledge and attitudes (health literacy, medical decision making, health information sources), but not health status. Of the 106 participants who used the Internet, 52 (49.1%) had high eHealth literacy; eHealth literacy was associated with computer characteristics (number of e-devices, computer stress), and health knowledge and attitudes (medical decision making, health information sources). In multivariate analysis, computer stress maintained a significant inverse association with eHealth literacy. Educational interventions to help older adults successfully use technology and improve eHealth literacy must be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]