Stability of Household and Housing Characteristics Among Farmworker Families in North Carolina: Implications for Health

Household and housing stability are important for health and well-being of individuals, particularly children. This analysis examines stability in household and housing over 2 years for North Carolina farmworker families with children. Mothers with a child aged 2-4 years in farmworker families (n = 248) completed interviews over 2 years. Household measures included number of adults and children, moves, and spouse absence. Housing measures included tenure, persons per bedroom, and kitchen facilities. Household and housing characteristics for participants retained in the study over 2 years (n = 221) were stable in number of persons, tenure, persons per bedroom, and kitchen facilities. Households were large with one-third having 3 or more adults, and one-quarter having 4 or more children. Most families rented houses (over 15 % owned), which were crowded. Participants lost to follow-up were similar to retained participants in household characteristics, but had worse housing characteristics. Comparative research on farmworker family household composition is needed.