Antonio J. Marín

Work-family conflict: experiences and health implications among immigrant Latinos.

Work-family conflict research has focused almost exclusively on professional, White adults. The goal of this article was to expand the understanding of culture and industry in shaping experiences and consequences of work-family conflict. Using in-depth interview data (n = 26) and structured survey data (n = 200) from immigrant Latinos employed in the poultry processing industry, the authors evaluated predictions drawn from emerging models emphasizing the influence of cultural characteristics such as collectivism and gender ideology on work-family conflict. Results indicated that immigrant Latinos in poultry processing experienced infrequent work-to-family conflict; both the level and the antecedents of work-to-family conflict differed by gender, with physical demands contributing to greater conflict for women but not men. In addition, there was little evidence that work-family conflict was associated with health in this population. These results demonstrate how traditional models of work-family conflict need to be modified to reflect the needs and circumstances of diverse workers in the new global economy.

The work–family challenge and mental health

The work–family literature is dominated by studies of white middle-class workers. In this study, we sought to expand this focus by examining work–family issues from the perspective of Mexicans who have immigrated to the USA within the past five years. Using data from qualitative in-depth interviews (N = 22) and quantitative structured interviews (N = 150), we documented the work–family experiences associated with immigration, and we examined the extent to which these experiences differed by gender as well as their mental health effects. The in-depth interviews clearly indicated that separation from family and community was a common and poignant strain experienced by Mexican immigrants who came to the USA to find work, and that these experiences did not differ between women and men. Quantitative analyses corroborated the qualitative findings by indicating women and men had similar levels of work–family strain. Analyses also indicated that higher levels of work–family strain were associated with more perceived stress, anxiety and depression, and that these associations did not differ between women and men. Finally, modest evidence suggested that the effects of work–family strain on mental health may be lower when the realities experienced by immigrants in finding employment and sending money home matched their expectations. This study adds a new voice to the work–family literature and the context and results make clear the tension between work and family: families frequently benefit from adults’ paid work, but this paid work is not without costs.

The prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in Latino poultry-processing workers and other Latino manual workers.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in Latino poultry-processing workers. Methods: Symptoms and nerve conduction studies were used to prospectively assess 287 Latino poultry-processing workers and 226 Latinos in other manual-labor occupations. Results: The prevalence of CTS was higher in poultry-processing (8.7%) compared with nonpoultry manual workers (4.0%; P < 0.0001). The adjusted odds ratio for the prevalence of CTS in poultry workers was 2.51 (95% confidence interval, 1.80–3.50) compared with nonpoultry workers. Within the poultry workers, those who performed packing, sanitation, and chilling had a trend toward less CTS than those who performed tasks requiring more repetitive and strenuous hand movements. Discussion: Latino poultry-processing workers have a high prevalence of CTS, which likely results from the repetitive and strenuous nature of the work.

The Organization of Work: Implications for Injury and Illness Among Immigrant Latino Poultry-Processing Workers

The US poultry-processing industry employs a large number of immigrants and has among the highest occupational illness rates for manufacturing. Previous research has not studied the potential health effects of psychosocial indicators of how poultry-processing work is organized. The investigators collected survey data from 200 immigrant Latinos working in poultry processing. Management practices (eg, poor commitment to safety, abusive supervision) and indicators of job design (eg, authority, variety, psychological workload, frequent awkward posture, and repetitive movement) were associated with risk of recent musculoskeletal problems, respiratory problems, and self-reported injury/illness. The results provide preliminary evidence suggesting that the organization of work underlies injury and illness among immigrant workers in poultry processing.

Acculturation and Conflict in Mexican Immigrants’ Intimate Partnerships: The Role of Women’s Labor Force Participation

This study explores women’s workforce participation as a potential agent for acculturation, and how it shapes conflict dynamics within intimate partnerships among Mexican immigrants. Analysis of in-depth interview data from 20 immigrant Mexican women and men believed to be in violent relationships indicated that women’s employment following migration created several sources of intracouple conflict by challenging gender-based norms and behaviors surrounding the division of household labor, financial decision making, and how women and men interact within intimate relationships. Immigrant Latino women tended to embrace an assimilation strategy for acculturation, whereas immigrant Latino men embrace a separation strategy.

Work safety climate and safety practices among immigrant Latino residential construction workers

BACKGROUND Latino residential construction workers experience high rates of occupational fatality and injury. Work safety climate is an especially important consideration for improving the safety of these immigrant workers. This analysis describes work safety climate among Latino residential construction workers, delineates differences in work safety climate by personal and employment characteristics, and determines associations of work safety climate with specific work safety behaviors. METHODS Data are from a cross-sectional survey of 119 Latino residential framers, roofers, and general construction workers in western North Carolina; 90 of these participants also provided longitudinal daily diary data for up to 21 days using an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. Measures included the Perceived Safety Climate Scale, and daily reports of five individual and five collective safety practices. RESULTS Work safety climate was mixed among workers, with roofers (19.9) having lower levels than framers (24.3) or general construction workers (24.3). Days reported for several individual (glove-related risks, not doing something known to be unsafe) and collective safety practices (attended daily safety meeting, not needing to use damaged equipment, not seeing coworker create an unsafe situation) were positively associated with work safety climate. CONCLUSIONS Work safety climate predicts subsequent safety behaviors among Latino residential construction workers, with differences by trade being particularly important. Interventions are needed to improve safety training for employers as well as workers. Further research should expand the number of workers and trades involved in analyses of work safety climate.

Mental health in immigrants from nontraditional receiving sites.

The mental health of Latinos immigrating to nontraditional settlements may be compromised by limited contextual resources. Stressors and strengths related to anxiety and depression were examined among 150 Mexican adults (45.3% women) in nontraditional areas. Normative stress was associated with anxiety (beta = .24) after controlling for depression. Normative and acculturative stressors were associated with depression after controlling for anxiety (betas = .36 and .17, respectively). Links between normative stress and depression were particularly strong for women. Social support provided resilience, being linked with lower depression (beta = -.20, p < .01). Acculturative stress and meeting economic expectations were associated with greater depression, but only for recent immigrants. Acculturative and normative stress increased the odds of clinical caseness for comorbidity by 4% and 62%, respectively, whereas social support decreased risk. Contextual implications and the need for resources to aid cultural adaptation are discussed.

Latino/Hispanic Farmworkers and Farm Work in the Eastern United States: The Context for Health, Safety, and Justice

The context in which farmworkers in the eastern United States (US) labor and live affects their health and safety, and the process of achieving justice. This context includes geographic, agricultural, demographic, cultural, and political dimensions, with each of these dimensions experiencing considerable change in the past 50 years. This chapter provides an overview of the context for farmworkers in the eastern US, and defines who is a farmworker for this volume. Although farmworkers in the eastern US became a largely Latino/Hispanic population in the early 1990s, this population continues to be varied in ethnic composition (Latino/Hispanic, Indigenous, non-Latino/Hispanic) and migration status. The information needed to document each dimension of the context for farmworkers in the eastern US is often unavailable. The lack of information makes it difficult to understand who farmworkers are, their number, their personal characteristics, their exposures and health status, and how best to work toward justice for farmworkers and their families. Recommendations to improve health, safety, and justice include more complete and consistent reporting by state agencies of information they collect for farmworkers in their states, and better documentation and reporting of study design by researchers. This information will provide a foundation for understanding diversity in the health and safety of farmworkers, and help direct efforts needed to improve social justice.

Using lay health promoters in occupational health: outcome evaluation in a sample of Latino poultry-processing workers.

Lay Health Promoters (LHPs) are widely used in community health education, but their use and evaluation in occupational health has been limited to farm workers. Evaluation data were collected from 30 randomly selected Latino poultry processing workers who had an encounter with an LHP who delivered Marias Story, an occupational health lesson about cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs). Participants had good recall of Marias Story. Most participants (n = 18, 60%) could identify the primary occupational health exposure linked to CTDs, more than 50% of participants (n = 16) could recall one or more ways of preventing CTDs, and 43.3% (n = 13) described in detail recommended treatments. Nearly one-half (n = 12) reported an occupational health behavior change after hearing Marias Story. The results of this study suggest that LHPs may be effective in promoting occupational health and reducing occupational health disparities among ethnic minorities in high-risk occupations.

ULTRASOUND FOR CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME SCREENING IN MANUAL LABORERS

Manual laborers are at increased risk for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), and a combination of history, physical examination, and nerve conduction studies is often used to screen for CTS in this population. Neuromuscular ultrasound may be a better screening tool, because it is painless. In this study we compare the accuracy of nerve conduction studies and ultrasound for CTS screening.