Occupational health experiences of Hispanic day laborers

INTRODUCTION: Hispanic day laborers' experiences with occupational risks and adverse working conditions remain largely understudied and underreported. AIM: As part of formative work to develop an educational intervention for Spanish-speaking day laborers in post-Katrina New Orleans, we assessed knowledge of equipment and behaviors to prevent exposures, as well as barriers and possible enhancers for undertaking protective actions. METHODS: We conducted 7 focus groups with day laborers recruited from locations where they look for work (n=48; 40 men and 8 women). The semi-structured open-ended question probes were based on field staff experience with the population, and the limited information available from a field scan and literature review. Trained moderators were ethnic and native language concordant with the participants. The study protocol was approved by the IRB and guided by Grounded Theory methods. RESULTS: Almost no workers had received formal training about occupational risks and safety. Their knowledge was mostly based on their experience and their peers'. The most salient concerns were respiratory and musculoskeletal risks. Workers reported limited safety equipment availability and frequently performing jobs without it or with improvised protection. Barriers included the expense of acquiring safety equipment not provided by employers and concerns about jeopardizing their job for requesting equipment not provided. Enhancers included availability of highly-visual, easy-to-understand information about specific equipment and one-on-one, hands-on trainings on using it. CONCLUSIONS: Given the limited knowledge about occupational safety information and equipment in this population, formative research is an important step in developing a relevant and culturally sensitive educational intervention.