Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Publication Date
4-1-2025
Journal
Journal of Agromedicine
Abstract
Essential workers were at increased risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, including seafood processors who are often rendered invisible within the public sphere. To examine the health and safety concerns of seafood processors, many who are low income or im/migrant workers on H-2B visas, our team conducted qualitative research with 44 participants. We found that in addition to high occupational health hazards that existed before the pandemic, COVID-19 increased workers' financial risks, which put them in more dangerous health and safety positions, since they needed to work through physical and mental health illness. These financial risks can be seen through the themes of paid sick leave, mental health, economic duress, and primary care access. We conclude with three recommendations to the H-2B visa worker program, which will not only decrease health disparities for im/migrant workers, but also increase health equity across seafood worker populations.
Keywords
Humans, COVID-19, Seafood, Occupational Health, Adult, Female, Male, SARS-CoV-2, Sick Leave, Middle Aged, Food-Processing Industry, Mental Health, Qualitative Research, Pandemics
DOI
10.1080/1059924X.2024.2421585
PMID
39462149
PMCID
PMC11983676
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
4-10-2025
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Recommended Citation
Guillot-Wright, Shannon; Porterfield, Laura; Wilson, Brenda; and Davis, Lacy, ""When the Bills Keep on Coming:" the Experiences of Seafood Processors During the COVID-19 Pandemic" (2025). Faculty, Staff and Student Publications. 104.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/uthdb_docs/104
Published Open-Access
yes