An instrument to measure musculoskeletal symptoms among immigrant Hispanic farmworkers: validation in the nursery industry.

We report on the construction and psychometrics of a survey measure of musculoskeletal symptomatology for use with Spanish–speaking immigrant farmworkers. Survey development included focus groups with workers, forward and backward translations, and pilot testing. The final survey includes a body diagram and items about symptom severity, frequency, and duration and about self–treatment, medical care, and job tasks. We report on the initial test of the survey with 213 commercial nursery workers in Southern California. Fifty–five percent of the workers reported pain, with 30% reporting back pain, 21% reporting upper extremity pain, 19% reporting lower extremity pain, and 10% reporting neck and shoulder pain. A composite symptom score exhibited acceptable test–retest reliability (r = 0.41, p < 0.01) over the annual agricultural cycle. Greater symptomatology was associated with greater frequency of self–treatment (r = 0.42, p < 0.01), seeking professional health care (t = 2.49, p < 0.05), and exposure to high–risk jobs (OR = 2.1, p < 0.05, CI = 1.0 to 4.4), supporting the validity of composite score.