Workers' Decompensation: Engaged Research with Injured Im/migrant Workers

Saxton, Dvera I.; Stuesse, Angela

doi:10.1111/awr.12147

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…In an environment where people are exposed to hazardous chemicals both at home and at work, it is difficult to know what causes certain health issues, a point that is used by officials such as policymakers and manufacturers to avoid taking action to reduce environmental exposures [ 40 , 46 ]. Rising cutbacks to regulatory institutions make it even more challenging to regulate and evaluate the chemical ingredients that large manufacturers add to products [ 12 ]. Many of the chemicals in auto and beauty products used daily in shops have not been tested for toxicity, and the onus is on regulators to prove that a chemical is hazardous before it can be removed from the market.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These potential hazards on the job are exacerbated by temporary or informal work contracts, which often cause immigrant workers to go without health care, and many do not understand or are not offered workers’ compensation benefits in cases of workplace injuries. This may be compounded by fear of unemployment or deportation, making Latinx workers more reluctant to speak up about occupational hazards [ 6 , 12 ]. Many of these challenges are also shared by Latinx small business owners and managers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent and ongoing cutbacks to US regulatory institutions like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Labor (DOL), which houses the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as limited occupational health resources for small businesses, perpetuate worker vulnerability to chemical exposures [ 12 , 30 ]. In tandem with this, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA), which regulates chemicals with “unreasonable risk” to human health or the environment, faces significant barriers to implementation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Responsibility for chemical exposures: perspectives from small beauty salons and auto shops in southern metropolitan Tucson

et al. 2021

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Background Throughout the United States, low-wage, minority workers are disproportionately affected by occupational illnesses and injuries. Chronic exposure to hazardous chemicals at work can lead to serious illnesses, contributing to health inequities. In this article, we expand on theories of ‘responsibilization’ in an occupational health context to reveal how responsibilities for workplace chemical exposures are negotiated by workers and owners in Latinx-owned small businesses. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with a total of 22 workers and owners in auto repair shops and beauty salons – two high-risk industries – in Southern Metropolitan Tucson. Participants were asked about their insights into workplace chemical exposures and health. A qualitative analysis team with representation from all study partner organizations collectively coded and reviewed the interview data in QSR International’s NVivo 11 and identified overarching themes across the interviews. Results We identified three primary themes: 1) ambivalence toward risks in the workplace; 2) shifting responsibilities for exposure protection at work; and 3) reflections on the system behind chemical exposure risks. Participants discussed the complexities that small businesses face in reducing chemical exposures. Conclusions Through our analysis of the interviews, we examine how neoliberal occupational and environmental policies funnel responsibility for controlling chemical exposures down to individuals in small businesses with limited resources, obscuring the power structures that maintain environmental health injustices. We conclude with a call for upstream policy changes that more effectively regulate and hold accountable the manufacturers of chemical products used daily by small business workers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Responsibility for chemical exposures: perspectives from small beauty salons and auto shops in southern metropolitan Tucson

et al. 2021

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“…Intervention research needs to engage an equity lens. Efforts to address occupational health inequities generally attempt to integrate workers from disadvantaged groups into existing institutional practices and paradigms that focus on the individual worker within the context of the immediate workplace [ 8 , 43 ]. These efforts tend to emphasize improving workers’ safety knowledge and promoting behavioral modifications with workers, an approach that has limited success [ 44 ].…”

Section: Towards the Integration Of A Biopsychosocial Approach To Osh Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This model has led to significant improvements in worker health over the past 50 years [ 5 ]. Nevertheless, persistent inequities in the burden of occupational injuries and illnesses, as well as challenges associated with the fundamental reorganization of the world of work [ 6 ], highlight the need to expand the current paradigm to account for the social contexts within which occupational injuries and illnesses occur [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Consideration of the role that social institutions and norms play in the inequitable distribution of work-related risks and benefits across society, and resultant issues of health equity, are central to this shift in OSH from a biomedical to a biopsychosocial approach [ 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Equity and a Paradigm Shift in Occupational Safety and Health

Flynn

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Steege

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Despite significant improvements in occupational safety and health (OSH) over the past 50 years, there remain persistent inequities in the burden of injuries and illnesses. In this commentary, the authors assert that addressing these inequities, along with challenges associated with the fundamental reorganization of work, will require a more holistic approach that accounts for the social contexts within which occupational injuries and illnesses occur. A biopsychosocial approach explores the dynamic, multidirectional interactions between biological phenomena, psychological factors, and social contexts, and can be a tool for both deeper understanding of the social determinants of health and advancing health equity. This commentary suggests that reducing inequities will require OSH to adopt the biopsychosocial paradigm. Practices in at least three key areas will need to adopt this shift. Research that explicitly examines occupational health inequities should do more to elucidate the effects of social arrangements and the interaction of work with other social determinants on work-related risks, exposures, and outcomes. OSH studies regardless of focus should incorporate inclusive methods for recruitment, data collection, and analysis to reflect societal diversity and account for differing experiences of social conditions. OSH researchers should work across disciplines to integrate work into the broader health equity research agenda.

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