From the Horse Worker's Mouth: A Detailed Account of Injuries Experienced by Latino Horse Workers

Background and objectives: Horse breeding is a dangerous industry and increasingly reliant on Latino workers.  Yet little is known about the injuries experienced by this population due to the challenges associated with surveying them and the limitations of employer-based surveillance systems (e.g., injuries must be reported to the employer to be counted).  Limited research suggests that these workers are at risk of musculoskeletal and respiratory symptoms, kicks, and bites.  However, no known research has systematically assessed Latino horse workers’ injuries by surveying workers directly. This paper identifies and describes injuries experienced by these workers, the circumstances surrounding them, and whether injuries were reported to a supervisor.

Methods: Data were collected from a community-based sample of 220 Latino horse farmworkers via a 1-hour survey administered by four native Spanish-speaking lay health promoters. Quantitative data were entered into Statistical Analysis Software (SAS). Open-ended responses about the circumstances of injuries, and reasons for not reporting were reviewed, coded into themes, and entered into SAS. Univariate/bivariate analyses were conducted to determine the nature and frequency of injuries and themes in reporting tendencies.

Results and Conclusions: Preliminary results indicate that in the past year 25% of workers experienced an injury requiring medical attention, 40% experienced an injury not requiring medical attention, and 49% experienced a near miss incident. Among injuries that were not reported, the most common reason given was that it was not serious. Information about the type, cause, context, and reporting of injuries to a supervisor will be presented and implications discussed.