This guide was developed for health care providers, policy makers, and advocates to foster awareness of circumstances that affect migrant health. Specifically, the social, demographic, and health-related environments of migrant farmworkers and their families are outlined as a basis for designing health care services and interventions that are culturally based and sensitive to overcoming health care barriers. Topics include: (1) a brief historical look at migrant labor in the United States, including changing employment trends, ethnic and racial composition of migrant farmworkers and their families, and descriptions of the three main migratory streams; (2) a presentation of migrant health status indicators as compared with other subgroups of the population, including social and cultural interactions in disease production, prevention, and treatment; (3) information on the health profile of migrant children, highlighting their unique health problems and social, demographic, and environmental risk factors; (4) the exposure of migrant farmworkers and their families to toxic chemicals and the resulting impact on occupational health policies; (5) an overview of health utilization patterns of migrant farmworkers and their families and cultural factors that affect access to health care; and (6) strategies for improving migrant health and health care services. Each topic area includes a list of references and suggested discussion questions. (LP)