Prevention Program to Reduce Injury Disparities among Latino Day Laborers

Background and Objective(s):

Latino day laborers (LDL) experience a disproportionately high rate of on-the-job injuries and fatalities compared with other US workers. Safety programs recommended for LDLs have had limited success in increasing their safety at work, partly because they do not consider multiple psychosocial stressors, which may amplify LDL risk of occupational injury.

The objectives of this study are to form a Community Advisory Board (CAB) consisting of day labor leaders, university researchers, and community-based and employer organizations to guide the development, testing and implementation of an occupational injury prevention program for LDLs.

Methods:

This community based participatory research study will 1) Identify intervention priorities using a corner-based needs assessment to document occupational and psychosocial risk and protective factors associated with LDL injury risk, (2) Design a culturally responsive and context appropriate OSHA 10-based safety intervention that also addresses psychosocial risks to reduce LDL injuries, and (3) Pilot a corner-level intervention and conduct an evaluation to assess the safety program's feasibility and acceptability in this population.

Results:

We expect to develop and test a pilot injury prevention program that is ready for a full implementation trial with other LDLs, locally and nationally.

Conclusion:

Until safety programs are created to help LDLs negotiate the hazards they face at work in the context of the psychosocial factors that amplify their risk, it will not be possible to effectively reduce the unacceptably high risk LDLs face of being injured or dying on the job.