Translating Research into Action: A Health Impact Assessment on the Massachusetts Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights

Domestic workers conservatively number 20,000 in Massachusetts, and comprise 3 primary occupations – nannies, housekeepers, and caregivers. Despite their important role in the economy, domestic workers often face unseen and unregulated working and living conditions. These conditions affect not only domestic workers but also their families and the recipients of their care.  Tired, ill, and injured domestic workers cannot provide high quality care or services to their clients nor can they adequately meet the needs of their own families.

Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) are a tool for promoting health in all policies and identifying populations disproportionately impacted by these policies. In January 2013, legislation was introduced in Massachusetts to establish a Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, which would amend state labor law to guarantee domestic workers basic work standards and protections. An HIA was conducted on the Bill of Rights in order to provide the best available information on the law’s potential health impacts on domestic workers, their families, and recipients of their services. The HIA used mixed methods to characterize the domestic worker population in Massachusetts as well as examine two key provisions of the bill – the right to a written contract and the right to privacy – and how these provisions could impact health.

This presentation will discuss the HIA process and results as applied to the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, and will highlight how HIA can be used as a tool to highlight vulnerable populations and translate public health research into healthier policy.