Submission ID 131735
| Issue/Objective | Temporary migrant workers (TMW) in the global agrifood system experience social determinants of health (SDoH) that contribute to health inequities. In Canada and other high-income agrifood systems, sectoral work-program policies such as employer-dependent work permits and housing create undignified living and working conditions for TMW. These policy-driven conditions may influence TMW vulnerability to food insecurity, poor health and stress, yet empirical evidence remains limited. This study assessed how policy-driven living and working conditions influence food insecurity and health among agrifood TMW. |
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| Methodology/Approach | As part of a multiple-case study in Québec, 283 TMW (152 agriculture; 131 food manufacturing) completed interviewer-administered surveys between June 2024 and July 2025. The survey included the Household Food Security Survey Module and questions on SDoH and health. We assessed associations between policy-driven work and housing food security barriers with food insecurity (none/marginal/moderate-to-severe) using multinomial logistic regression. We then examined associations between these barriers and food insecurity (any: yes/no) with perceived mental health (poor/good) and daily stress (high/low), using binary logistic regression. All models were adjusted for sociodemographic covariates. |
| Results | Most TMW (91%) held employer-dependent work permits, 70% lived in employer-dependent housing, and 55% experienced food insecurity (25.8% marginal; 29.3% moderate-to-severe). Moderate-to-severe food insecurity was associated with employer control over food access (OR=8.71 [95% CI: 2.17,34.90], p=.002), cooking time/energy constraints occurring sometimes (OR=3.83 [1.84,7.97], p<.001) or often (OR=9.78, [3.26,29.35], p<.001), and sharing a refrigerator with ≥ 3 people (OR=2.28 [1.18,4.42], p=.014). Cooking time/energy constraints, when they occurred sometimes or often, were associated with poorer mental health (sometimes: OR=3.72 [1.84,7.52], p<.001; often: OR=4.02 [1.54,10.50], p=.005), and with higher stress (sometimes: OR=3.90 [1.38,11.06], p=.01; often: (OR=7.07 [2.06,24.21], p=.002). Employer control over TMW food access was associated with higher stress (OR=4.17 [1.25,13,96], p=.02), as was any food insecurity (OR=4.44 [1.69,11.64], p=.002). |
| Discussion/Conclusion | Policy-driven work and housing food security barriers are key determinants of food insecurity and health among agrifood TMW. As one of the first Canadian studies to document these links, our findings underscore the need for policy reforms and provide a baseline for strengthening rights-based monitoring of decent work, food access and housing standards for this essential workforce. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Théa Demmers Centre de Recherche en Santé Publique (CReSP), Université de Montréal Lisa Kakinami School of Health, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Concordia University Malek Batal Département de Nutrition, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal Lara Gautier Centre de Recherche en Santé Publique (CReSP), Université de Montréal Rosanne Blanchet Centre de Recherche en Santé Publique (CReSP), Université de Montréal |
