Emily Q. Ahonen

Extending a model of precarious employment: A qualitative study of immigrant workers in Spain

BACKGROUND Since the 1980s, changes in the labor market have modified power relations between capital and labor, leading to greater levels of precarious employment among workers. Globalization has led to a growth in migration, as people leave their countries in search of work. We aimed to describe the dimensions of precarious employment for immigrant workers in Spain. METHODS Qualitative study using analytic induction. Criterion sampling was used to recruit 129 immigrant workers in Spain with documented and undocumented administrative status. Data quality was ensured by triangulation. RESULTS Immigrant workers reported that precarious employment is characterized by high job instability, a lack of power for negotiating employment conditions, and defenselessness against high labor demands. They described insufficient wages, long working hours, limited social benefits, and difficulty in exercising their rights. Undocumented workers reported greater defenselessness and worse employment conditions. CONCLUSIONS This study allowed us to describe the dimensions of precarious employment in immigrant workers.

Comparación de las lesiones por accidente de trabajo en trabajadores extranjeros y españoles por actividad económica y comunidad autónoma (España, 2005)

Fundamento: Aunque el colectivo de personas inmigrantes en nuestro pais se ha incrementado notablemente en los ultimos anos, poco se sabe de sus condiciones de trabajo y de los efectos de estas en terminos de lesiones por accidentes de trabajo. El objetivo de este trabajo fue comparar, para el ano 2005, la incidencia de lesiones mortales y no mortales de las personas extranjeras con las de las espanolas por actividad economica y comunidad autonoma. Metodos: Los datos de lesiones por accidentes de trabajo (LAT) procedieron del Registro de Accidentes de Trabajo del Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales y los denominadores se obtuvieron de las estadisticas disponibles sobre afiliacion a la Seguridad Social para el ano 2005, seleccionandose en ambos casos los datos correspondientes a los afiliados al Regimen General de la seguridad social y al regimen de la Mineria del Carbon. Se calculo la incidencia de lesiones mortales y no mortales por accidente de trabajo, asi como el riesgo relativo (RR) y su intervalo de confianza al 95% (IC95%) para trabajadores extranjeros en comparacion con los espanoles por comunidad autonoma y actividad economica, tomando como referencia a los espanoles. Resultados: El riesgo relativo de LAT en trabajadores extranjeros fue 1,34 (IC95% 1,11-1,62) para LAT mortales y 1,13 (IC95% 1,13-1,14) para LAT no mortales, registrandose importantes diferencias entre comunidades autonomas y sectores de actividad. Conclusiones: se confirma un mayor riesgo global de LAT entre los trabajadores extranjeros que puede ser mayor que el observado. Las diferencias de riesgo entre actividades economicas y comunidades autonomas requieren analisis mas detallados. En comparacion con los trabajadores espanoles, el riesgo de LAT es mas elevado para los extranjeros en las actividades industriales, mientras que resulta inferior en la construccion, el comercio y la hosteleria. Por comunidades autonomas, Aragon y Cataluna muestran los riesgos mas elevados para los trabajadores extranjeros.

Negative mood states and related factors in a sample of adolescent secondary-school students in Barcelona (Spain)

INTRODUCTION Poor mental health is a common problem in adolescence. Little information is available, however, about the factors influencing negative mood states in otherwise healthy adolescents. We aimed to describe the mood states and related factors in a sample of adolescents in the city of Barcelona (Spain). METHODS We administered a health survey to a sample of 2,727 students from public, subsidized, and private schools in Barcelona, aged approximately 14, 16, and 18 years old. To analyze the associations among moods and related factors, we used bivariate logistic regression, and fitted multivariate logistic regressions using the statistically significant variables from the bivariate analysis. To examine the possible group effects of the school on individual students, we employed multilevel analysis. RESULTS The frequencies of negative mood states increased with age, with girls consistently reporting more frequent negative mood states than boys. The factors associated with negative mood states were problematic alcohol use, perceived mistreatment or abuse, antisocial behavior, intention to use or current use of illegal drugs (not including cannabis), lower perceived academic performance, and feeling isolated. CONCLUSIONS Mood states are influenced by lifestyle and social factors, about which there is little local information. To plan and implement appropriate public health interventions, more complete information about the possible areas of influence is required. To complement the information obtained from studies such as the present study, longitudinal and qualitative studies would be desirable.

Riesgo de lesión por accidente laboral en trabajadores extranjeros (España, 2003 y 2004)

Objetivos: Comparar el riesgo de lesiones por accidente de trabajo (LAT) segun la nacionalidad para 2003 y 2004. Metodos: Las LAT fueron agrupadas en trabajadores espanoles y extranjeros. Para 2003, primer ano en que se recogia esta variable y con un numero importante de LAT con codigos inexistentes, hubo dos categorias de extranjeros: A, considerando las LAT con codigos inexistentes como extranjeros, y B, excluyendo las LAT con codigos inexistentes. Resultados: El riesgo relativo (extranjeros frente a espanoles) de LAT no mortales fue de 4,39 (intervalo de confianza [IC] del 95%, 4,38-4,42) y de 5 (IC del 95%, 4,5-5,6) para las LAT mortales, segun la definicion A, y de 0,72 (IC del 95%, 0,71-0,73) para las no mortales y 1,2 (IC del 95%, 0,9-1,5) para los mortales, segun la definicion B. En 2004, donde no hubo problemas en la codificacion, el riego relativo de LAT mortales fue de 0,95 (IC del 95%, 0,94-0,96) y de 1,2 (IC del 95%, 0,9-1,4) para las no mortales. Conclusiones: Estos resultados, tan contradictorios, obligan a seguir haciendo un seguimiento de este problema de salud laboral, a la vez que solicitar una gestion adecuada de la calidad de los datos.

Risk of occupational injury in foreign workers in Spain, 2003 and 2004

OBJECTIVES To compare the risk of occupational injury (OI) by nationality in 2003 and 2004. METHODS OI were grouped into those occurring in Spaniards and those occurring in foreigners. For 2003, the first year in which this variable was available and there were a significant number of OI without a nationality code, classification of OI was as follows: (A) consideration of OI without a nationality code as occurring in foreigners, and (B) exclusion of OI without a nationality code from the analysis. RESULTS According to definition A, the relative risk (Spaniards as reference) of non-fatal OI was 4.39 (95%CI, 4.38-4.42) and 5.0 (4.5-5.6) for fatal OI. According to definition B, the relative risk of non-fatal OI was 0.72 (95%CI, 0.71-0.73) and 1.2 (95%CI, 0.9-1.5) for fatal OI. In 2004, when there were no codification problems, the relative risk was 0.95 (95%CI, 0.94-0.96) for non-fatal OI and 1.2 (95%CI, 0.9-1.4) for fatal OI. CONCLUSIONS These highly contradictory results indicate the need to continue to monitor this occupational health problem, as well as to seek adequate management of data quality.