COVID-19 and essential workers: Healthcare delays among organic farmers

Introduction and objective: While the overall impact of COVID-19 is still being assessed, there Organic producer; is strong evidence that the pandemic has greatly aggravated traditional flaws of healthcare COVID-19 pandemic; systems around the globe. Understanding the healthcare impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is Healthcare delays; essential for emergency preparedness and the prevention of collateral damage. The food and Essential workers; agriculture sector is an essential service and critical to food availability and access. However, Food production literature on the healthcare impact of COVID-19 in farmers is scarce. This study aimed to explore healthcare delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in certified organic producers. Methods: An observational Cross-sectional study based on answers of an electronic self-reported survey. Participants included were United States certified organic producers listed in the Organic Integrity Database. Results: Respondents represented 40 states; response rate was estimated at 11%. Analyses were conducted on 344 records. A high majority were non-Hispanic Whites with a four-year college education or more. More than 90% had health insurance. More than one-third (36.5%) of respondents reported healthcare delays. Female producers were nearly twice as likely to report non-COVID-19 related healthcare delays as their male counterparts (OR 1.95, 95% CI: 1.10-3.44). Conclusion: This study provides national data on healthcare delays among organic producers and their households and identifies sex differences in non-COVID-19 related healthcare delays. This study is the first to collect data on organic producers and can serve as a baseline for future studies; it may inform practice, research and policy on emergency preparedness, protection of essential workers, and healthcare services and quality. (C) 2022 FECA. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.