• S P Cooper, A R Darragh, S W Vernon, L Stallones, N MacNaughton, T Robison, C Hanis, and S H Zahm.
• The University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, Texas 77225-0186, USA. scooper@sph.uth.tmc.edu
• Am. J. Ind. Med. 2001 Nov 1; 40 (5): 531-7.

BackgroundTo design questionnaires for epidemiologic research among children of migrant farmworkers, researchers need to consider ways to best solicit information about pesticide exposures.MethodsBilingual facilitators conducted five focus groups with either migrant farmworker mothers or their children (age range 8-16 years) in southern Texas and northeastern Colorado. Guided questions were used to assess activities of migrant farmworker children and the ways to best elicit information about exposure to pesticides.ResultsParticipants reported a large number of activities that may potentially expose children to pesticides through both direct and indirect routes. Prompting, indirect questions about chemical use, and use of local and trusted facilitators increased information elicited from focus group participants.ConclusionsThese focus groups helped to provide information for developing questionnaire items related to pesticide exposure among migrant farmworker children, and highlighted the importance of using bilingual community interviewers and including children as respondents.Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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