Occupational medicine clinical practice data reveal increased injury rates among Hispanic workers

Abstract

Background Minnesota has an ethnically diverse labor force, with the largest number of refugees per capita in the United States. In recent years, Minnesota has been and continues to be a major site for immigrant and refugee resettlement in the United States, with a large population of both immigrant and native born Hmong, Hispanic, and East Africans. This study seeks to evaluate the injury risk among the evolving minority workforce in the Minnesota Twin Cities region. Methods A retrospective cohort study identifying work‐related injuries following pre‐employment examinations was performed using electronic health records from a large multi‐clinic occupational medicine practice. Preplacement examinations and subsequent work‐related injuries were pulled from the electronic health record using representative ICD‐10 codes for surveillance examinations and injuries. This study included patient records collected over a 2‐year period from January 1, 2015, through December, 2016. The patients in this cohort worked in a wide‐array of occupations including production, assembly, construction, law enforcement, among others. Results Hispanic minority workers were twice as likely to be injured at work compared with White workers. Hispanics were 2.89 times more likely to develop back injuries compared with non‐Hispanic workers, and 1.86 times more likely to develop upper extremity injuries involving the hand, wrist, or elbow. Conclusion Clinical practice data shows that Hispanic workers are at increased risk for work‐related injuries in Minnesota. They were especially susceptible to back and upper extremity injuries. Lower injury rates in non‐Hispanic minority workers, may be the result of injury underreporting and require further investigation.

Hand and Upper Extremity Trauma in the Undocumented Immigrant Population in the United States

“…Occupational risk factors exist, including language barriers, lack of training/education, lack of resources, lack of stable employment, and higher risk manual labor jobs. [19][20][21][22][23][24] Additionally, employees are discouraged from reporting unsafe work conditions or negotiating fair wages/health benefits through the development of "subcontracting" by employers and fears of deportation. 19,[25][26][27] Oftentimes they are expected to work without breaks or sick leave, further placing them at higher risk for injury on the job.…”

Salarios y riesgos laborales de los inmigrantes mexicanos en Estados Unidos

“…Si bien existe una amplia literatura sobre las condiciones laborales de los migrantes, es oportuno seguir analizando la precariedad laboral, concretamente el riesgo de sufrir accidentes no fatales y padecer enfermedades relacionadas con el desempeño en empleos precarios. Se ha considerado que los inmigrantes latinos tienen más probabilidades de sufrir accidentes en el empleo, entre otras cosas, por la falta de capacitación laboral, por su estatus migratorio y por el número limitado de trabajos a los cuales pueden acceder (Eggerth et al, 2019;Riester et al, 2019).…”

Cross-Sectional Study on Ethnic Differences in Occupational Injuries in Southern Israel—An Eight-Year Data analysis

“…The rates of these injuries in the US were higher among immigrants and black and Hispanic workers than in white workers. 1,2 The main reason for this phenomenon is the lower level of education and professional training among immigrants and foreign workers, 3 who are employed in low skill jobs 4 and employed less in workplaces that require training and special skills. 5 In the US black and Hispanic workers are disproportionately employed in dangerous places with low salaries.…”