Sí sé: Salud y seguridad en el trabajo—health and safety education for forest workers

Background and Objectives: Forest work, with some of the highest rates of injury and illness, is conducted primarily by a Latino immigrant workforce. The purpose of this project was to create and evaluate a pilot lay health advisor—or promotora—program for Latino forest workers. The program objectives were to increase: 1)Knowledge among forest workers and their families about their rights, how to protect themselves, and actions in case of injury/illness; 2)Forest workers' motivation, willingness, and confidence to address health and safety issues; and 3)Community capacity to protect workers' health. Methods: The promotoras selected were wives of forest workers. Training materials, developed in partnership with a community advisory committee, included low-literacy flip-guide charts, “conversation” guides, and resource booklets. Evaluation methods included a focus group, pre/post surveys, and qualitative feedback from a community advisory committee and promotoras. Results: Over one year, three promotoras trained 350 forest workers. Key findings: 1)Community capacity to provide information and assistance on work-related issues to forest workers increased, 2)Workers' awareness of workplace safety issues and protections, and stated motivation for action increased; 3)Educational materials served purposes of the project but were not key to its success; and 4)Due to fear of retaliation and reprisal, few workers have taken any specific action to improve workplace conditions. Conclusions: Although the promotora model is an effective way to reach forest workers with health/safety information, due to larger structural and cultural barriers, many workers are unable to make changes in their behavior or their workplace in this short timeframe.