Rowan-Virtua SOM Migrant Health Initiative

The Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine & Rutgers-Camden Migrant Health Initiative is a community-engaged feasibility project focused on improving health access and characterizing health disparities among migrant agricultural workers in South Jersey, with specific emphasis on the blueberry growing season in Atlantic County. The initiative responds to the seasonal influx of thousands of migratory workers who arrive on H-2 visas from countries including Guatemala, Jamaica, Haiti, and Mexico. Many of these workers bring family members, and the cohort frequently faces economic hardship, limited English proficiency, and low health literacy. The workers' living conditions are often overcrowded and tied to employment status, transportation away from farms is limited, and access to medical care and medications is frequently constrained. As a result, medical problems may remain undiagnosed or unmanaged.

The project's central goal is to create and mobilize healthcare teams that will visit farms in Atlantic County during the local blueberry season, which runs from May to July, to screen farmworkers for obesity, hypertension and dehydration. By providing on-site screening, the initiative seeks to improve access to health services for a vulnerable population that otherwise might not receive timely care. The research will assess whether mobile healthcare outreach can materially increase service access and document the prevalence of hypertension within this migrant cohort. In addition to prevalence measures, the study aims to analyze demographic characteristics and social determinants of health that may influence both the diagnosis and management of hypertension and other conditions identified during screening.

Structured as a community feasibility study, this project is intended to provide foundational data and practical experience in delivering mobile health services to seasonal agricultural workers. Findings will inform whether a pilot model of mobilized teams can be scaled in future cycles to cover additional agricultural seasons, to reach other farms in the region, and to address additional medical conditions beyond the initial focus on obesity, hypertension, and dehydration. The project's community partner is the Migrant Health Collaborative of South Jersey, represented by Emma Cortes, and the lead organization is Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine, Rowan University, in partnership with Rutgers-Camden. The work is situated within Cycle 3 of the initiative (2024–2026), and focuses on Atlantic County.

This effort integrates population health priorities: screening, access, and social determinants analysis, within a targeted, seasonal outreach framework. The project's methodology emphasizes direct engagement on farms during the concentrated growing season, leveraging partnerships with local organizations to reach a transient, multilingual population. As a pilot, the study's outcomes will determine feasibility and guide future grant-supported expansions, with the objective of reducing barriers to care, improving detection and management of chronic conditions like hypertension, and ultimately mitigating health disparities experienced by migrant farmworkers in South Jersey.