Workers’ Compensation and the Working Poor: Occupational Health Experience Among Low Wage Workers in Federally Qualified Health Centers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Forst L ; Friedman L ; Topete L ; Zanoni J
• Description:
  Background: The working poor are at highest risk of work-related injuries and have limited access to occupational health care. Objectives: To explore community health centers (CHCs) as a venue for accessing at risk workers; and to examine the experience, knowledge, and perceptions of workers' compensation (WC) among the working poor. Methods: Key informant interviews were conducted among patients in waiting rooms of rural and urban CHCs. Result: Fifty-one interviews of minority workers across sectors identified 23 prior work-related injuries and mixed experiences with the WC system. Barriers to reporting and ways to overcome these barriers were elucidated. Conclusions: Patients in CHCs work in jobs that put them at risk for work-related injuries. CHCs are a good site for accessing at-risk workers. Improving occupational healthcare and appropriate billing of WC insurance should be explored, as should best practices for employers to communicate WC laws to low wage workers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Community Health Services Emigration And Immigration Minority Health Occupational Health Public Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Community Health Center Community Health Health Care Immigrant Workers Injuries Minority Health Occupational Health Public Health Risk Factors Socioeconomics Sociological Factors Worker Health Workers Workers Compensation Working Poor

  More +
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• 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:
  189-197
• Volume:
  61
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051033
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2018 Mar; 61(3):189-197
• Contact Point Address:
  Linda Forst, MD, MPH, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, 2121 W. Taylor Street, Room 503, Chicago, IL 60612
• Email:
  lforst@uic.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  University of Illinois at Chicago
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20150701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f94f6c55bed15c9acd64dce1a5d442aa409aeaaaa96879ab1d452389b3fcac1fd8085d20a9f35ea99fc61b3d47e56f8ded5a4e414daaa3a72b66b23fb84cf194
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/211172/cdc_211172_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 888.00 KB ]