Reducing the take-home pathway of pesticide exposure: behavioral outcomes from the Para Niños Saludables study.

Abstract

To evaluate the effectiveness of a community intervention in promoting adoption of behaviors to reduce the take-home pathway of pesticide exposure in farmworker households. Using two cross-sectional samples of farmworker households in 11 intervention and 12 comparison communities in Washington State, we examined whether differences over time in reported pesticide safety practices varied by community intervention status. Pesticide safety practices increased in both intervention and comparison communities over time. Changes were significantly greater in intervention communities for removing work shoes before entering the home (P = 0.003) and marginally significantly greater for changing out of work clothes within 1 hour of arriving home (P = 0.05). The intervention was associated with modest effects in certain behaviors among farmworkers. Further research is needed to identify successful strategies for reducing the take-home pathway of pesticide exposure.