MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL MIGRANT HEALTH WORK GROUP includes Francisco Garcia, Director, Office of Migrant Education, U.S. Department of Education; Mary Anne Hay, Northeast Arkansas Migrant Education Cooperative, Bald Knob, AR; Mike Taylor, Migrant Health State Supervisor, Washington State Title I Migrant Education Program, Wenatchee, WA; Mary Ellen Good, RN, MS, MPH, Director of Federal Programs, Centennial BOCES, Greeley, CO; Terry Delgado, Consultant, Migrant, Indian & International Education Office, Sacramento, CA; and Philip Kellerman, President, Harvest of Hope Foundation, Gainesville, Florida; (not pictured) Mary Lou de Leon Siantz, PhD, RN, FAAN, Director, Milagros Center of Excellence in Migrant Health, School of Nursing and Health Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Washington migrant leader
lends expertise to
national health group
A national migrant education group, including Mike Taylor, the Washington State migrant health state supervisor, is working to enhance the educational achievement of migrant students all across the country by better identifying and addressing their health needs.
“Health and education have to go together,” says Taylor. “If not, these kids come to school with all sorts of unresolved health problems, affecting their scholastic achievement.
“The single most important thing we possess is our health,” he adds. “They may be smart kids, but if they are not healthy, they will not learn as well.”
Heading the Migrant Education National Health Work Group is Francisco Garcia, director of the Office of Migrant Education (OME) of the U.S. Department of Education. The group recently held its second meeting in Washington D.C. to further their efforts toward the development of national health standards for Migrant Education. Their objectives were:
· To identify and share data related to the health challenges facing migrant children and their families.
· To build collaborative partnerships with health care providers and other key stakeholders.
· To provide technical assistance and support to the Migrant Education Program to improve access to and utilization of available health and social resources.
Also during the session they met with a group of migrant parents, who discussed key questions relating to migrants’ access to health care.
Migrant families have a number of health concerns, according to the parents.
Some of the most frequent health problems migrant families face are ear infections, sinus infections, upper respiratory infections, asthma, dental disease, obesity, mental health problems, depression, teen pregnancy, vision problems, poor nutrition (too much of the wrong foods, i.e., sugars, starch and fat), anemia, attention deficit disorder, HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.
Other health-related problems include lack of health education, lack of medication, lack of child care providers, older siblings having to take care of sick children, lack of prenatal care for teens and women, work-related injuries of parents, shame and embarrassment in talking about certain things such as sexuality, dysfunctional families, and cultural preferences and behaviors related to physical and mental health.
The parents said these health problems have a big effect on migrant students.
Poor health or related family problems hurt student attendance and focus; lead students to drop out of school; lead to anti-social behavior, such as aggression and rebellion; cause students to achieve low grades; directly inhibit learning because students can’t see or hear well or suffer from learning disabilities; and lead to bias against the students.
Teachers lack understanding and training related to the problems of migrant students, according to the parents. Migrant students learn to be good actors in order to avoid embarrassment, the parents added, and adults don’t know their parental rights.
Migrant families with health problems don’t know how to get treatment. Frequently they have no insurance. If they are undocumented, they may not qualify for state-provided services. Many of their employers don’t provide insurance. The migrant families lack the money to pay for the services themselves. And many migrant parents lack knowledge of preventative methods to avoid such problems as dental disease, hypertension and diabetes.
Migrant families seek assistance from many different kinds of organizations to secure health and dental care, the parents said.
Providers include volunteer dentists and other health professionals, medical and dental university students, public and non-profit outreach programs such as “Smilemobile vans, university hospitals, other hospitals that provide indigent care, migrant and community health centers, school-based clinics, and programs sponsored by such service groups such as Lions Club and Shriners.
Other families, according to the parents simply go without health care or wait until they return to Mexico.
In addition to poverty, other barriers to adequate dental and health care, the parents said, include lack of transportation, language barriers, overcrowded clinics, unwillingness by providers to accommodate migrant family’s needs, fear, lack of information about available resources, lack of health care provider sensitivity, and lack of understanding by providers about cultural beliefs and folk remedies.
The Migrant Education National Health Work Group explored strategies that would better connect the state Migrant Education Program directors to health resources by utilizing venues such as a pre-conferences and/or panel discussions at the National Migrant Education Conference, Migrant Stream Forums, and the Bi-National Meeting.
The creation of a presentation to deliver to states interested in developing or enhancing their health services was discussed, as well as developing a web site that would provide information about available services in each state.
Alex Goniprow of OME provided information regarding the utilization of the Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) to identify solutions to health disparities experienced by migrant students.
It was determined that the group will meet again to continue their work during the upcoming year with times, location and dates yet to be determined.