Implementing a teen educator developed survey for characterizing the extent and populations at risk of immigrant occupational health problems: Somerville, Massachusetts

Tufts University, the Immigrant Service Providers Group (ISPG/H) and the Cambridge Health Alliance will report on the results of a survey conducted as part of a Environmental Justice program which addresses immigrant occupational health risks in Somerville, MA. The survey was developed and administered by fluently bi-lingual Teen Educators (N = 8). Four of the teen-educators are Haitian-Creole speakers and four are Spanish speakers who were recruited and trained as part of the program by the Haitian Coalition and the Community Action Agency of Somerville. The occupational health survey was developed with assistance provided by the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH). This assistance involved sessions where youths trained by MassCOSH interacted with the Teen Educators, where training was supplied by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and “walk throughs” were conducted of local businesses for the performance of hazard assessments. The presentation will demonstrate the sequential development of the survey instrument which documents the different approaches taken to question development on the part of students, faculty and community participants. The finalized instrument has been utilized in a variety of settings including a health fair and customized events aimed at generating completed surveys. Our conclusion is that the project benefits from the ability of the Teen Educators to build trust and perform outreach with immigrant populations. Such outreach would be difficult, if not impossible, if the Teen Educators did not enjoy a high level of trust within the Somerville immigrant community.