COVID-19 Education and Resource Development for Punjabi-Speaking Sikh Farmworkers in California

ABSTRACT

Objective

While the vast majority of farmworkers in California are Latinx, a small proportion of the farmworkers are Asian Indian who primarily speak Punjabi. To date, there are few COVID-19 resources developed that specifically target Punjabi-speaking farmworkers. This study examines the COVID-19 educational needs of Punjabi-speaking farmworkers in California and aims to inform future development of educational materials for Punjabi-speaking farmworkers.

Methods

During early 2021, a two-phase qualitative study was conducted. In Phase 1, five key informant interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide to assess the content, visual, and cultural relevance of current COVID-19 educational resources. Based on informant feedback, new agriculture-specific COVID-19 educational resources were developed in Punjabi. In Phase 2, three focus groups were conducted (in Fresno and Yuba Counties) with five participants in each group to evaluate the newly developed COVID-19 resources.

Results

Informant interviews showed that Punjabi-speaking farmworkers preferred printed handouts, videos, and radio messages to receive COVID-19 related information. Participants preferred 8–1/2”x11” sized printed handouts that were colorful and had culturally relevant photographs. Participant video preferences included live action videos that were short (1–3 mins) with characters representing the Punjabi community. A substantial majority of focus group participants approved the newly developed COVID-19 educational and safety resources.

Conclusion

Current COVID-19 resources are not meeting the educational needs of Punjabi-speaking farmworkers. This community needs COVID-19 educational and safety materials that are culturally relevant and linguistically appropriate to be available in different formats: handouts, videos, and radio messages.

KEYWORDS:

• Agriculture
• Punjabi
• Punjabi-speaking farmworkers
• COVID-19;
• farmworker health and safety

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Punjabi-speaking farmworkers for their participation in this study. The authors also thank Dr. Karen Sokal-Gutierrez for guidance on IRB approval and constructive feedback. Lastly, the authors thank Dr. Elizabeth Georgian for assisting with the editorial process of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

Raw data that support the findings of this study that are not included in the manuscript and supplemental files are available on request from the corresponding authors, As and KP. The data are not publicly available to maintain privacy of the research participants.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2023.2217808

Additional information

Funding

Participants were given $25 gift cards as compensation for their time and valuable input. The gift cards were funded by the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (WCAHS) and NIOSH grant U54 OH007550.