Using community-based methods and a social ecological framework to explore workplace health and safety of bloqueros on the Olympic Peninsula

Details

• Personal Author:
  Campe J ; Hagopian A ; Hoare L ; Keifer, Max
• Description:
  Background: Occupational health and safety issues among Latino immigrants are increasingly important as increased immigration has led to a burgeoning workforce with limited English language skills or lack of documentation status. Foreign-born Latino immigrants are consistently the ethnic group with the highest occupational mortality rates in the United States. We aimed to understand and document the occupational safety and health hazards faced by a particularly at-risk Latino immigrant workforce - cedar block cutters, or bloqueros - on the Olympic Peninsula. Methods: Key informant interviews were conducted using community-based participatory methods. Qualitative analysis was guided by grounded theory and a social ecological framework. Results: Thirteen interviews were conducted lasting 1-2 hr each. Three prominent findings arose: (1) bloqueros face occupational risks similar to those found in other forestry occupations, (2) bloqueros face unexpected risks that are likely unique to block cutting, and (3) bloqueros face four overlapping marginalization forces (societal, economical, political, and occupational) that undermine workplace health and safety. Conclusions: Bloqueros work low-paying, high-risk jobs with little health and safety regulation, documentation, or coverage. Workers' precarious socio-economic position and various structural factors compound workplace risks and contribute to a lack of ability to advocate for safer and healthier working conditions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Forestry Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Risk Assessment Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Analytical-processes Author Keywords: Occupational Health CBPR Forestry Forestry-workers Latino Immigrant Occupational-exposure Occupational-health Occupational-safety-programs Qualitative-analysis Risk-analysis Safety Safety-education Safety-measures Safety-practices Socialecology Work-practices

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  438-449
• Volume:
  54
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20039591
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2011 Jun; 54(6):438-449
• Contact Point Address:
  Joseph Campe, MPH, Pacific Northwest Agricultural Health and Safety Center, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Box 357234, Seattle, WA 98195
• Email:
  jcampe@u.washington.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ac78b0040cdc82a1fc7dbfb58cbe55ba37497161dd7474b688deb560e7b2909ecc77135d460e79472dea93402543de35828a9858e8abc0f908dfb9a28404d6e9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/192782/cdc_192782_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 125.43 KB ]