Work organization and health among immigrant women: Latina manual workers in North Carolina

Immigrant and low income workers constitute a vulnerable population at significant risk for occupational injury and illness. Greater attention is being given to how the organization of work affects the health and safety of these workers. This analysis (1) delineates work organization attributes (physical demands, psychological demands, supervision) of full-time employed Latino woman manual workers, and (2) determines the associations of the work organization attributes with their physical health (number musculoskeletal symptoms), mental health (depressive symptoms; CES-D), and mental (MCS) and physical (PCS) health related quality-of-life (SF-12). Data are from a cross-sectional survey of Latino manual workers in western NC. 319 women (173 in poultry processing; 146 in other industries) completed interviews in 2009. About 41% of women reported no musculoskeletal symptoms, 42% reported 1 to 3 symptoms, and 16% reported 4 to 6 symptoms. The mean score for depression was 6.2 (SE=0.2). Mean MCS and PCS were 38.3 (SE=0.5) and 42.8(SE=0.3), respectively. Greater heavy load and awkward position were associated with more musculoskeletal and depressive symptoms, and worse MCS. Less skill variety, less job control, and greater psychological demands were associated with more musculoskeletal and depressive symptoms. Greater perceived supervisor's power and greater safety climate were associated with fewer depressive symptoms and better MCS. These associations remained significant in multivariate analyses in which personal characteristics (age, years in US, indigenous language, poultry processing versus other industry) were included. Work organization is an important correlate of health among vulnerable workers. Occupational safety policy must consider these factors.