Undocumented Status as a Social Determinant of Occupational Safety and Health: The Workers' Perspective

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Am J Ind Med
• Personal Author:
  Flynn, Michael A. ; Eggerth, Donald E. ; Jacobson, C. Jeffrey
• Description:
  Background ; Undocumented immigration to the United States has grown dramatically over the past 25 years. This study explores undocumented status as a social determinant of occupational health by examining its perceived consequences on workplace safety of Latino immigrants. ; Methods ; Guided by the Theory of Work Adjustment, qualitative analysis was conducted on transcripts from focus groups and individual interviews conducted with a convenience sample of Latino immigrant workers. ; Results ; Participants reported that unauthorized status negatively impacted their safety at work and resulted in a degree of alienation that exceeded the specific proscriptions of the law. Participants overwhelming used a strategy of disengagement to cope with the challenges they face as undocumented immigrants. ; Conclusion ; This study describes the complex web of consequences resulting from undocumented status and its impact on occupational health. This study presents a framework connecting the daily work experiences of immigrants, the coping strategy of disengagement, and efforts to minimize the impact of structural violence.
• Subjects:
  • Adaptation, Psychological
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Construction Industry
  • Emigrants and Immigrants
  • Emigration and Immigration
  • Female
  • Focus Groups
  • Health Services Accessibility
  More +
• Keywords:
  • occupational safety and health
  • immigrant workers
  • social determinates of health
  • undocumented status
  • structural violence
  • disengagement
  • latino health
  • theory of work adjustment
  • coping strategies
• Source:
  Am J Ind Med. 58(11):1127-1137
• Pubmed ID:
  26471878
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4632487
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  CC999999/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  58
• Issue:
  11
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/36404/cdc_36404_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 106.76 KB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a4218f2676ec9c5a5b32d41070794b19ad6763986bb4bc8bf4f74a8339dd91c3f2d6a0ee52112c062d398f04ab241f811cc81bc1ff2d4b4322f802979d53430d