Citation

Anderson JT, Hunting KL, Welch LS. J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2000; 42(2): 176-186.

Affiliation

Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10693079

Abstract

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.

Language: en