1097-0274/asset/olalertbanner.jpg?v=1&s=620db0ff30486f2d9912ef6a178f960ba813a4d9)
Background
To investigate occupational health in urban immigrant Latino workers, using a community-based method.
American Journal of Industrial Medicine
Explore this journal >
- †
Glenn Pransky is the Director of Liberty Mutual Center for Disability Research and an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts, and Katy Benjamin is an Instructor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
- ‡
This study was approved by the Committee for Protection of Human Subjects of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Abstract
Methods
A survey was administered through consecutively selected door-to-door interviews.
Results
Response rate was 80% (n = 427). Average time in the US was 7.6 years, and average job tenure was 2.8 years. Twenty-five reported exposures to over 10 different hazards, and 18% thought these hazards had harmed their health. Only 31% received any job safety training; 55% had no workers' compensation coverage. Of the 47 (11%) with a work injury in the past 3 years, 27% reported difficulty obtaining treatment, 91% lost time from work (median = 13 days) and 29% had to change jobs because of the injury. The annual occupational injury rate was 12.2/100 full-time workers, compared to an expected rate of 7.1.
Conclusions
Urban immigrant workers have increased risk of occupational injuries, with adverse outcomes. Am. J. Ind. Med. 42:117–123, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.