Double Jeopardy: Occupational health disparities in the social service sector

Background and Objective:

Work is an important social determinant of health (Souza et al, 2010). Occupational health disparities in social service occupations are important because 1) well-being of the provider is a key component of quality services, 2) jobs in social services are frequently filled by women, minorities, and other groups at risk for health disparities, 3) social service work is characterized by low pay and few benefits, thus staff are at risk for health care disparities.

In the current economic climate social services have disproportionately been the target of state and local budget cuts. This project will employ an eco-social perspective on occupational health disparities to analyze the impact of recent program cuts on the occupational health and safety of those employed in the social service sector.

Methods:

Systematic review of studies of occupational illness and injury in social services, and policy analysis of social service sector program cuts 2008-2011.

Results:

Expected results include 1) occupational health disparities between social service sector and other sectors of the economy in terms of ethnicity/race, gender, and education; 2) occupational health disparities by job classification within social services; 3) Trends in cuts to social service programs with health disparity implications.

Conclusion:

When social service programs are cut or restructured, the result is a “Double Jeopardy” that puts the health of staff and clients at risk, in particular increasing impacts to occupational health disparities among socials service staff. The public health dimensions of program cuts need to be considered by policy-makers.