Minority stress, work stress, and health inequity for Hispanic/Latinx K-12 teachers in Colorado: a mixed methods study.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Holm AKJ
• Description:
  While stressors related to teaching are already concerning (AFT, 2017; NIOSH, 2016), particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Hispanic/Latinx teachers likely experience identity-related stressors in addition to occupational stressors (e.g., see NIOSH Occupational Health Equity Program, 2018). According to the Allostatic Load Model (McEwen & Stellar, 1993) and the Minority Stress Model (Meyer, 2006), these combined stressors may lead to increased strain on the body, taking a toll on the overall health and wellness of this group. Using a mixed-methods design, I recruited participants in partnership with the CEA (CEA; teachers union) in November 2020. The sample consisted of 851 Colorado teachers and union members who completed an online survey on their experiences of discrimination, stress, and health in their workplace. Twenty-six of these teachers (most of whom were Hispanic/Latinx or Teachers of Color) were interviewed for 45-60 minutes on these experiences as well as their feelings regarding diversity affinity groups as a practice to celebrate diverse identities in their workplace. First, I found that Hispanic/Latinx teachers experienced more intersectional discrimination than white teachers; however, there were no group differences in workplace discrimination or work-related stress in this study. Secondly, Hispanic/Latinx teachers did not have poorer health than white teachers, though they had marginally poorer health than non-Hispanic Teachers of Color. Finally, while I hypothesized that organizational support would moderate the relationship between workplace discrimination and health conditions, I found that work discrimination did not predict more health conditions/symptoms, but organizational support did predict fewer health conditions/symptoms. Nearly every Hispanic/Latinx interviewee reported workplace hostility, and most had experienced one or more forms of discrimination at work. Many teachers responded favorably to the idea of diversity affinity groups to celebrate diversity and deter feelings of isolation, but there were also several concerns (i.e., the potential for isolation or surface-level efforts) regarding their implementation. While discrimination in the workplace did not impact Hispanic/Latinx teachers' health, these results suggest that organizational support can have a powerful and positive effect on teachers' health, as other occupational literature suggests (Baran et al., 2012). Future research should study these variables longitudinally and outside of a pandemic and consider other implications of discrimination in the workplace besides its effect on health within this population. The results from this dissertation suggest that diversity affinity groups may be an excellent resource for repairing harm and making change, but above all, Hispanic/Latinx teachers simply need to be heard. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Healthcare Disparities Mental Health Minority Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Teaching; Job stress; Mental health; Minority health; Health disparities; Discrimination; Diversity; Work organization; Coronavirus; COVID-19; Occupational health equity
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Dissertation
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-207
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065776
• Citation:
  Aurora, CO: University of Colorado Denver, 2021 Sep; :1-207
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  University of Colorado Denver, Aurora
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20160901
• Source Full Name:
  Minority stress, work stress, and health inequity for Hispanic/Latinx K-12 teachers in Colorado: a mixed methods study
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:faa9c0f738f78d58688e267b2139ba032a1e62ef0f3f90c1a34b26f1321e57721bc541d26c6abb5e33285ac72036178ad6bedaf8567b4951a43d3f06f04fa47d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/249546/cdc_249546_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.59 MB ]