Fotonovelas for Farmworkers and Their Families: Evitando los Riesgos en Casa

Abstract

At the request of the farmworker advocacy group, Campesinos Sin Fronteras (CSF) in Yuma County, Arizona, we created fotonovelas (comic books) to provide information and education to farmworkers and their families on the prevention of exposures to pesticides in the home. Our process included an informal needs assessment, the creation of draft scripts in English and Spanish, the recruitment of student artists to draw candidate fotonovelas, the review of fotonovelas by promotoras de salud (community health workers), and review by a focus group of farmworkers. These efforts resulted in the production of two fotonovelas for distribution to farmworkers and established a framework and process for future educational and training programs to reduce pesticide exposures on the U.S.-Mexico border. These fotonovelas can be adapted to reduce pesticide exposures in the home for other agricultural communities.