Occupational Health and Safety Experiences among Self-Identified Immigrant Workers Living or Working in Somerville, MA by Ethnicity, Years in the US, and English Proficiency

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Bindu Panikkar⁷  Mark A. Woodin⁷  Doug Brugge²  Anne Marie Desmarais⁷  Raymond Hyatt²  Rose Goldman⁶  Alex Pirie³  Marcy Goldstein-Gelb⁸  Heloisa Galvão⁵  Monica Chianelli⁵  Ismael Vasquez¹  Melissa McWhinney¹  Franklin Dalembert⁴ 

[1] Community Action Agency of Somerville, Somerville, MA 02143, USA; E-Mails:;Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA; E-Mails:;Immigrant Service Providers Group/Health, Somerville, MA 02143, USA; E-Mail:;Haitian Coalition, Somerville, MA 02144, USA; E-Mail:;697 Cambridge St. Suite 106 Brighton, MA 02135, USA; E-Mails:;Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; E-Mail:;Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA; E-Mails:;Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, Dorchester, MA 02122, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: occupational health disparities;    immigrant health;    community based participatory research;    environmental justice;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph9124452

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In this community based research initiative, we employed a survey instrument predominately developed and administered by Teen Educators to assess occupational health risks for Haitian, Salvadoran, and Brazilian immigrants (n = 405) in Somerville, MA, USA. We demonstrate that a combined analysis of ethnicity, years in the US, and English proficiency better characterized the occupational experience of immigrant workers than considering these variables individually. While years in the US (negatively) and English proficiency (positively) explained the occurrence of health risks, the country of origin identified the most vulnerable populations in the community. Brazilians, Salvadorans, and other Hispanic, all of whom who have been in the US varying length of time, with varying proficiency in English language had twice the odds of reporting injuries due to work compared to other immigrants. Although this observation was not significant it indicates that years in the US and English proficiency alone do not predict health risks among this population. We recommend the initiation of larger studies employing c community based participatory research methods to confirm these differences and to further explore work and health issues of immigrant populations. This study is one of the small number of research efforts to utilize a contemporaneous assessment of occupational health problems in three distinct immigrant populations at the community level within a specific Environmental Justice context and social milieu.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.