Occupational Safety and Health Education and Training for Underserved Populations

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the essential elements of effective occupational safety and health education and training programs targeting under-served communities. While not an exhaustive review of the literature on occupational safety and health training, the paper provides a guide for practitioners and researchers to the key factors they should consider in the design and implementation of training programs for underserved communities. It also addresses issues of evaluation of such programs, with specific emphasis on considerations for programs involving low-literacy and limited-English-speaking workers.

A Guide to the Design of Occupational Safety and Health Training for Immigrant, Latino/a Dairy Workers

“…Workers should be trained in safety for all areas of the dairy, especially when there is a tendency for job rotation. Trainings should also educate workers about health insurance and workers compensation (14, 15), as well as their rights and responsibilities under OSHA, and provide information and resources on where to get help in addressing OSH problems (44, 45). Additionally, trainings should include information pertaining to employer responsibilities and how workers can go about pursuing grievances when these responsibilities are not fulfilled (46).…”

“…To ensure that materials are at the appropriate level, they should be field tested with members of the target audience who are not able to fluently read or write in either language (44). Cognitive interviewing, in which members of the target group are given the training materials and asked to articulate their understanding of the information in order to determine if the intended messages are being communicated, may be a particularly useful approach in this context (53).…”

“…There are numerous ways to promote active engagement in trainings, such as group problem solving, hazard mapping, hands-on demonstrations and simulations, role-playing activities, photo voice, and other art-based approaches (see O’Connor et al (44) for a more detailed list of approaches and Román-Muñiz et al (73) for examples of hands-on demonstrations in the dairy context). In reviewing training content, verbal quizzes and games should be used instead of written formats to reinforce training messages and to invite discussion or questions (44). Trainees should also be provided with regular feedback so that they can evaluate their progress and learn from their mistakes (44).…”

“…In reviewing training content, verbal quizzes and games should be used instead of written formats to reinforce training messages and to invite discussion or questions (44). Trainees should also be provided with regular feedback so that they can evaluate their progress and learn from their mistakes (44). …”

Differences in safety training among smaller and larger construction firms with non-native workers: Evidence of overlapping vulnerabilities

“…In addition, OSH promotion materials and programs are often not designed to meet the needs of high risk groups such as small businesses, non-native workers or temporary workers; making them ineffective or impractical for these groups which further aggravates their elevated risk for injury. While OSH training materials are being tailored for groups such as non-native workers [O’Connor et al, 2014], small businesses [Hung et al, 2011; Cunningham and Sinclair, 2015], and young workers [Okun et al, 2016], few exist that are tailored to the needs of two or more vulnerable groups at the same time. For example, a construction safety program that is tailored for use with Hispanic immigrants is often not designed to address the specific challenges of small construction firms.…”