Sarah M. Rios University of California, Santa Barbara
Sarah Rios is a doctoral student in the Sociology department at
the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research project
examines the living conditions of farmworkers in the Central
Valley, particularly as they relate to health disparities from
daily exposure to contaminated air, water, and pesticides.
Originally from Salinas-Watsonville Valley, California she
developed a passion for healthy and sustainable environments
after witnessing the effects of mono-agriculture on farmworkers’
health. Her other research examines how collective action in
farming communities begets social change in the US as well as in
Costa Rica. After graduating from California State University
Fresno in 2008, she worked for the United Farm Workers Union
where she laid the foundation for her future work. Her
broader areas of investigation include studies of race, class,
and gender, social stratification and Latino sociology.
Defensores de la salud en California están más conscientes de los
peligros del Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis), una enfermedad
causada por esporas de hongo en regiones semiáridos del oeste y
suroeste de los Estados Unidos. California tiene la mayor
cantidad de muertes asociadas aunque solo representa alrededor de
31 por ciento de todos los casos en el EE.UU.[1] Políticas
responsables podrían reducir este impacto en comunidades de bajos
recursos y ahorrar millones de dólares en tratamiento cada año si
abordan las circunstancias de infección, y también las
dificultades de poblaciones de bajos recursos en acceder
atención.
California health advocates are increasingly aware of the hazards
of Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis), a disease caused by a
fungus spore living in semi-arid regions of the west and
southwest U.S. California has the most associated deaths despite
only representing about 31 percent of all U.S. cases.[1] Policy
makers can reduce its impact on low-income communities and save
millions of dollars in treatment each year by addressing the
circumstances of infection, as well as the difficulties
low-income populations face in accessing care.
