Determinants of Health and Work Outcomes Among Chinese Immigrant Food Service Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Thompson EA ; Tsai JH-C
• Description:
  Background and Objective: Emerging, yet separate, lines of research document the influence of social determinants on mental health and work performance. We tested an expanded, theory-driven model positing the effects of social discrimination and job concerns on mental health, as mediator of work performance and injuries for Chinese immigrants in the U.S. Methods: Chinese immigrants (N=194), working in food service, completed a comprehensive in-person interview, with scales using Likert-type response options. Using SEM, we tested for the effects of social discrimination and job concerns on mental health problems and the mediating effects of mental health problems on work performance loss and work-related injuries, controlling for relevant covariates including gender, English proficiency and health status. Results: On average, participants had lived in the U.S. 10.7 years (SD=9.0); 57.7% understood some spoken English; and 53.6% were female. The findings revealed support for the hypothesized model. Specifically, job concerns (=.55, p<.05) and social discrimination (=.21, p approx. .05) affected mental health problems. Mental health problems mediated the influence of discrimination and job concerns on work performance and injuries (=-.56 & =-.55, p<.05). Conclusion: This study advances understanding of the mechanisms by which social determinants influence worker health and work performance and the relevance of mental health in this process. The confirmed links with social discrimination and job concerns raise compelling questions about whether focused mental health promotion would be efficacious in preventing or reducing work performance loss and injuries among Chinese immigrant workers or whether broader work policy interventions would be necessary, or both. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emigration And Immigration Food Handling Food Industry Healthcare Disparities Mental Health Minority Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Immigrants Discrimination Food Services Health Disparities Immigrant Workers Injuries Mental Health Minority Health Psychosocial Factors Work Performance
• Publisher:
  American Public Health Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060658
• Citation:
  APHA 140th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 27-31, 2012, San Francisco, California. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 2012 Oct; :269220
• Contact Point Address:
  Jenny Hsin-Chun Tsai, PhD, ARNP, PMHCNS-BC, Associate Professor, University of Washington, Department of Psychosocial & Community Health, School of Nursing, Box 357263, Seattle, WA, USA 98195-7263
• Email:
  jennyt@u.washington.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20080501
• Source Full Name:
  APHA 140th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 27-31, 2012, San Francisco, California
• End Date:
  20120430
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:69d929d1bcfee5efb8be8cf4886fc1ae1bb4b607f8319e48e7ec276d2bd566eefca9f2d7109e3049aa08fcb9ec19dda136fa286005eee9d922311432e64a315b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224505/cdc_224505_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 149.52 KB ]