Injury and Employment Patterns Among Hispanic Construction Workers

This article describes non-fatal injuries among Hispanic construction workers treated at an emergency department from 1990 to 1998. Medical and interview data were analyzed to evaluate and explain the workers' apparently inflated risk of injury. The majority of the injured Hispanic workers were...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 2000-02, Vol.42 (2), p.176-186
Main Authors: Anderson, Judith T.L., Hunting, Katherine L., Welch, Laura S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidents, Occupational - statistics & numerical data
Adult
African Americans - statistics & numerical data
Biological and medical sciences
Construction industry
Emergency Service, Hospital - statistics & numerical data
Employment
Employment - trends
European Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data
Facility Design and Construction - manpower
Follow-Up Studies
Hispanic Americans
Hispanic Americans - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Incidence
Injuries
Injury Severity Score
Male
Manual workers
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Occupational hazards
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Population Surveillance
Predictive Value of Tests
Prevention and actions
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Risk Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
United States - epidemiology
Wounds and Injuries - diagnosis
Wounds and Injuries - ethnology
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Summary:This article describes non-fatal injuries among Hispanic construction workers treated at an emergency department from 1990 to 1998. Medical and interview data were analyzed to evaluate and explain the workers' apparently inflated risk of injury. The majority of the injured Hispanic workers were employed in the less-skilled trades. Compared with other injured workers, Hispanics had a higher proportion of serious injuries and were disadvantaged in terms of training and union status. With the exception of union status, these differences largely disappeared after controlling for trade. The physical, financial, and emotional consequences were more apparent 1 year later for injured Hispanics even after controlling for trade. These observations suggest that minority status is a predictor of trade and that trade is a predictor of injury risk. In addition to reducing injury hazards, interventions should address the limited employment and union membership options that are available to minority workers in the construction industry.
ISSN:1076-2752
1536-5948
DOI:10.1097/00043764-200002000-00016