Employment precarity predicts increased risk for occupational hazard exposure: results from the Greater Lawndale Healthy Work Project community health survey.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bonney T ; Castañeda Y ; Conroy LM ; Hebert-Beirne J ; Holloway A ; Rospenda K ; Velonis A
• Description:
  Background: While there is evidence that workers in nonstandard employment arrangements are disproportionately exposed to recognized occupational hazards, existing studies haven't comprehensively examined associations between employment precarity and exposure to occupational hazards for these workers in the US. The aim of this study was to examine relationships between employment precarity and occupational hazards in two contiguous high socio-economic hardship neighborhoods in Chicago. Methods: Using a community-based participatory research approach, community researchers administered a community-developed survey to 489 residents of Greater Lawndale who reported current or recent employment in a job that met at least one characteristic of precarious employment (e.g. unpredictable schedule, insecure work, no living wage/benefits). Employment precarity was calculated using a modified version of the Employment Precarity Index (EPI) developed by the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario group. We modeled the association between employment precarity and occupational exposures using logistic regression models. Results: Using the EPI, we classified 14% of respondents' reported working arrangements as "stable/secure", 16% as "vulnerable", and 70% as "precarious". Those classified as precarious were significantly more likely than those classified as stable/secure to report exposures to dust/chemicals, noise, vibration, extreme temperatures, and heavy lifting and were significantly more likely to report fear of violence and theft at work (ORs ranged from 2.2-3.3 at p<0.01). Conclusion(s): Results highlight the importance of using community research approaches and robust measures of employment characteristics, such as the EPI, to evaluate associations between employment precarity and hazardous exposures. These results suggest that variability in employment situations and resultant relative employment precarity are important predictors of exposure to recognized occupational hazards. Findings also suggest that health inequities observed among precariously employed workers may be partly explained by increased risk for exposure to occupational hazards, which has implications for community health and should be investigated in future longitudinal research. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Community Health Services Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Violence Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Occupational Health And Safety; Community-Based Research; CBPR TWH; Total Worker Health; Community Health; Occupational Health Disparities; Work Schedules; Occupational Hazards; Socioeconomics; Workplace Violence;
• Publisher:
  American Public Health Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065711
• Citation:
  Creating the Healthiest Nation: Preventing Violence. APHA 148th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 24-28, 2020, virtual event. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 2020 Oct; :476471
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  University of Illinois at Chicago
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20160901
• Source Full Name:
  Creating the Healthiest Nation: Preventing Violence. APHA 148th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 24-28, 2020, virtual event
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9e266e7e0fb20f0ae36f4b4cc32e7ce506812d0dcd67c331c121ad4d13029e71e4bd98f1684bae85f54d4f9aef88fb557fb2c9f0d9e94bd19805bbb4092e58e4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/249522/cdc_249522_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 30.29 KB ]