Community health workers in occupational health.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ahonen E ; Forst L ; Gutierrez M ; Holloway, Beth A. ; Kader A ; Ringholm E ; Rodriguez E ; Zanoni J
• Description:
  Community health workers serve and come from populations that experience health inequities. CHWs have roles of connecting their peers to health related services, providing peer education related to prevention, and serving as liaisons between health researchers and their communities. In Occupational Health, the CHW model has developed in parallel, starting with promotores de salud among migrant farm workers, and peer trainers in many other worker populations. Low wage and immigrant workers are subject to inequities similar to underserved, community based populations in the forms of increased risk, poor access to appropriate health care and rehabilitation services, and worse outcomes after a work-related injury. We present a case study of worker leaders in the construction sector, which has a significant proportion of Hispanic and other immigrant workers. Construction workers are subject to conditions that can result in severe, disabling, and fatal injuries, and Hispanics and foreign born workers are at particular risk. Worker leaders, trained to deliver a course that covers the OSHA 10-hour construction health and safety curriculum, play the role of Community Health Worker (educator) for their peers. Parallels are drawn between worker leaders in this study and CHWs that address general health issues in at-risk populations.
• Subjects:
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Coal
  • Coal Mining
  • Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities
  • Mining
  • Occupational Exposure
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Worker safety
  • Construction workers
  • Safety education
  • Community based
  • Occupational health programs
  • Health promotion
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  35
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062436
• Citation:
  First national conference on Eliminating Health and Safety Disparities at Work, September 14-15, 2011, Chicago, Illinois. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2011 Sep; :35
• Email:
  Forst-L@uic.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• Performing Organization:
  University of Illinois at Chicago
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• End Date:
  20240630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/181901/cdc_181901_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.32 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e5cab1215a267060756d23ea06a6a82cd49dac1aaf2f9ba117656bcbb76d497f433c7871bd02937582bf517686c50a26929d9c1281c96a2502b67d5fb5c144ce