Is Acculturation Related to Use of Hearing Protection?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Duran R ; Rabinowitz PM
• Description:
  Noise-exposed employees with limited English skills may pose a special challenge for hearing conservation programs. This pilot field study assessed knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding use of hearing protective devices in a largely Hispanic group of 88 workers exposed to industrial noise. Effectiveness of hearing protection was determined through field measurements of personal attenuation ratings. Individual scores on an acculturation scale (first language learned, language at home, degree of literacy in English, preferred language) demonstrated a correlation between a low degree of acculturation and low personal attenuation rating (R2= 0.49, p=0.0001). Low acculturation was also correlated with high-perceived barriers to use of hearing protection (p=0.006). Although neither self reports of self-efficacy nor perceived benefits of hearing protection correlated with personal attenuation rating, perceived barriers to hearing protector use was a significant predictor of hearing protector fit (p=0.05). These results indicate that less acculturated workers may be underutilizing hearing protection in the workplace partly due to perceived barriers to use of hearing protective devices. To be effective, hearing conservation training programs in work sites with an immigrant work force need to address language and cultural barriers to the use of hearing protection. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emigration And Immigration Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Acculturation Ear Protective Devices Hearing Conservation Hearing Loss Prevention Hearing Protection Hispanic Americans Immigrant Workers Industrial Noise Language Barrier Multilingualism Noise-induced Hearing Loss Noise Exposure Noise Induced Hearing Loss Occupational Noise

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• ISSN:
  0002-8894
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  62
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20058802
• Citation:
  Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 2001 Sep/Oct; 62(5):611-614
• Contact Point Address:
  Peter M. Rabinowitz, Yale Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program, Yale University School of Medicine, 135 College St., 3rd Floor, New Haven, CT 06510
• Email:
  peter.rabinowitz@yale.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Performing Organization:
  Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19980930
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal
• End Date:
  19990929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:af045e79e179486fc90d8c2aea0feda14de5b71f486d9963a1403e60cbc77601fdbeaa46f63e1c61e802d3651d038a03a4f5e7bdd6ae84420d6e99c958a48749
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223198/cdc_223198_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 563.99 KB ]