177979 A Programmatic approach to providing safety and health training to Spanish-speaking workers

Monday, October 27, 2008: 8:45 AM

Luis Vazquez, MPH , Health and Safety Department, United Auto Workers, Detroit, MI
Sharon D. Beard, MS , Worker Education and Training Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC
Deogracia Cornelio, MA , Labor Occupational Safety & Health Program/IIR, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Donald Ellenberger, MS , The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, MD
Ted Outwater, BA , Worker Education and Training Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC
     
Effective occupational safety and health education can prevent death, injury and illness. This has been documented most recently by evaluations of training conducted by grantees of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Worker Education and Training Program (NIEHS WETP). Yet such effective training has, by and large, not been available to the rapidly growing Spanish-speaking workforce, often employed in hazardous jobs and suffering from disproportionately high rates of injury and illness.

There is a critical need for a systematic, programmatic approach to the problem, moving beyond occasionally hiring a Spanish-speaking trainer or translating a curriculum. NIEHS WETP grantees have developed a variety of programs that incorporate awareness of culture and socioeconomic context into goal-setting, outreach, and leadership development for trainers and workers.

During this session NIEHS WETP grantees will discuss innovative approaches to address the problem from community and workplace based perspectives. Deogracia Cornelio, UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (UCLA LOSH), will describe outreach and education through community networks to reach day laborers in the informal economy; Don Ellenberger, CPWR - the Center for Construction Research and Training, will discuss how it has adapted its instructor development program in the building trades; and Luis Vazquez, United Auto Workers Union (UAW), will analyze the impact of an empowerment-based worker-trainer program in Puerto Rico.

Representatives from each of the programs will describe the challenges they confront and opportunities to develop union and community-based partnerships that can identify appropriate interventions to reach the growing Spanish-speaking immigrant population.

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to describe the set of issues involved in serving Spanish-speaking workers. Participants will be able to explain the requirements that must be met to develop effective H&S programs. Participants will be able to explain a programmatic approach to serving this population based on the theory and methods presented. Participants will be able to list sources of information on cultural sensitivity, curricula development, program planning and administration, trainer development, and training evaluation.

Keywords: Hispanic, Occupational Safety

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Project Coordinator for the United Auto Workers Health and Safety Department, and have conducted Occupational Health and Safety training for Spanish-speaking union members, have participated in fatality investigations of Spanish-speaking members, and provide technical assistance to Spanish-speaking union members and leadership.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Occupational Health Disparities Institute: Health and Safety for Latino/Hispanic Workers
See more of: Occupational Health and Safety