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Hispanic Health Program
PROTECTING THE SAFETY AND
HEALTH OF IMMIGRANT WORKERS
WHAT IS THE PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM?
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Foreign-born workers
are more likely to be employed in the higher-risk and lower-wage
sectors of the workforce, such as agriculture, construction, and
service industries. |
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There are
approximately 16.5 million foreign-born workers in the United
States. |
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Latin America is the
region of birth for over half of foreign-born workers. |
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Between 1999 and 2000,
while the number of occupational fatalities in the country
decreased, there was a 5% increase in the number of fatalities among
foreign-born workers, and a 12% increase in the number of
Hispanic-worker deaths (even though the Hispanic/Latino workforce grew by
only 6%). |
WHAT HAS CDC
ACCOMPLISHED?
CDC
is working to address the health and safety needs of immigrant workers
through targeted efforts to reduce illnesses, injuries, and fatalities in
the most hazardous sectors of the immigrant workforce.
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Examples of programs in action: |
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To
better understand issues faced by immigrant agricultural workers, CDC is
collaborating with the Department of Labor to collect
data on hired crop
farm workers, most of whom are foreign born, through the National
Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS). NAWS is the only national study that
has documented the living and working conditions of immigrant workers. |
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In 2000, 23% of fatal
occupational injuries to foreign-born workers occurred to workers in
construction trades. CDC is studying dry wall work, the construction
occupation that has the highest percentage of Hispanic/Latino workers, and has
developed a Spanish-language survey and educational materials for
preventing silicosis, a fatal disease affecting construction workers. |
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In 2000, 24% of fatal
occupational injuries to foreign-born workers were due to homicides. CDC
is evaluating the effectiveness of violence prevention strategies, such as
panic buttons in taxi cabs, as well as various state-based approaches. CDC
also is supporting studies on prevention of nonfatal injuries to immigrant
workers such as home health care aides and poultry workers. |
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CDC has developed a new
Spanish-language web site to better meet the needs of the growing Hispanic/Latino
worker population, which is estimated to increase by more than one-third
over the next decade. The web site, "NIOSH en Español," provides resources
in Spanish, including translations of selected NIOSH publications and
links to other useful Spanish-language materials on occupational safety
and health. |
WHAT ARE THE NEXT
STEPS?
CDC will continue to improve
data collection, research, and communication methods to better address the
many language, cultural, social, and political challenges immigrant
workers face. Increased understanding of the experiences and concerns of
immigrant workers will help better tailor education and intervention
programs to meet the needs of this diverse population.
Back to the Hispanic/Latino Populations Page
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