María José López-Jacob

A qualitative study about immigrant workers' perceptions of their working conditions in Spain

Background: Spain has recently become an inward migration country. Little is known about the occupational health of immigrant workers. This study aimed to explore the perceptions that immigrant workers in Spain had of their working conditions. Methods: Qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study. Criterion sampling. Data collected between September 2006 and May 2007 through semi-structured focus groups and individual interviews, with a topic guide. One hundred and fifty-eight immigrant workers (90 men/68 women) from Colombia (n = 21), Morocco (n = 39), sub-Saharan Africa (n = 29), Romania (n = 44) and Ecuador (n = 25), who were authorised (documented) or unauthorised (undocumented) residents in five medium to large cities in Spain. Results: Participants described poor working conditions, low pay and health hazards. Perception of hazards appeared to be related to gender and job sector. Informants were highly segregated into jobs by sex, however, so this issue will need further exploration. Undocumented workers described poorer conditions than documented workers, which they attributed to their documentation status. Documented participants also felt vulnerable because of their immigrant status. Informants believed that deficient language skills, non-transferability of their education and training and, most of all, their immigrant status and economic need left them with little choice but to work under poor conditions. Conclusions: The occupational health needs of immigrant workers must be addressed at the job level, while improving the enforcement of existing health and safety regulations. The roles that documentation status and economic need played in these informants’ work experiences should be considered and how these may influence health outcomes.

Invisible work, unseen hazards: the health of women immigrant household service workers in Spain

BACKGROUND Household service work has been largely absent from occupational health studies. We examine the occupational hazards and health effects identified by immigrant women household service workers. METHODS Exploratory, descriptive study of 46 documented and undocumented immigrant women in household services in Spain, using a phenomenological approach. Data were collected between September 2006 and May 2007 through focus groups and semi-structured individual interviews. Data were separated for analysis by documentation status and sorted using a mixed-generation process. In a second phase of analysis, data on psychosocial hazards were organized using the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire as a guide. RESULTS Informants reported a number of environmental, ergonomic and psychosocial hazards and corresponding health effects. Psychosocial hazards were especially strongly present in data. Data on reported hazards were similar by documentation status and varied by several emerging categories: whether participants were primarily cleaners or carers and whether they lived in or outside of the homes of their employers. Documentation status was relevant in terms of empowerment and bargaining, but did not appear to influence work tasks or exposure to hazards directly. CONCLUSIONS Female immigrant household service workers are exposed to a variety of health hazards that could be acted upon by improved legislation, enforcement, and preventive workplace measures, which are discussed.

Factors associated with the activities of safety representatives in Spanish workplaces

Objective: To describe the activities of safety representatives in workplaces in Spain. Methods: A specific questionnaire was applied to a representative sample of safety representatives. Activities developed during the past year, presented in a closed ended list, were categorised into three groups: information and advising; participation in occupational health management; and pressure on or negotiation with employers. Personal phone interviews were conducted from September to December 2004. A sample of 1201 interviews was attained. Crude and multivariate analyses were carried out. Results: Spanish safety representatives were mostly men (76%), aged 26 to 45 years (62%), with fixed contracts (94%), and more than 10 years in their company (57%). On a comparable 0–10 scale, the mean (95% confidence interval (CI)) number of activities relating to information, management, and negotiation developed during the previous year were, respectively, 6.8 (6.7 to 6.9), 4.5 (4.4 to 4.7), and 4.0 (3.8 to 4.1). In multivariate analysis, workplace size (>30 workers), industrial sector, training, and support from the labour inspectorate were the factors most consistently associated with safety representatives’ activity. Additionally, support from the employer was associated with participation in occupational health management (odds ratio = 2.38 (95% CI, 1.73 to 3.29)). Conclusions: Safety representatives in Spain have a variety of activities, mostly in the category of information and advising. These are necessary but not sufficient for real participation of workers in decisions concerning their health and safety. More participation of safety representatives in occupational health management at workplaces seems to be needed, and factors associated with this participation reinforced.

From questionnaire to database: field work experience in the "Immigration, work and health survey" (ITSAL Project)

OBJECTIVE Despite the need for information in the area of migration and health, the available data are sparse. We describe the field work in a cross-sectional study on the health of immigrant workers in Spain. METHOD A convenience sample of workers from Colombia, Ecuador, Morocco and Rumania in four cities was targeted, using a block-walking approach. The outcome rates of the American Association of Public Opinion Research were estimated. RESULTS Of 6,504 persons approached, 71.4% were eligible contacts. Of these contacts, only 57.8% completed interviews. Response and cooperation rates were above 50%. CONCLUSIONS Block-walking enabled surveyors to access difficult-to-reach groups. The use of specifically trained surveyors with a background similar to that of the target population increased the effectiveness of our methods.

Diferencias en los accidentes laborales en España según país de procedencia del trabajador

Objective. Compare the occupational accidents between autochthonous and immigrant workers in Spain. Material and Methods. Data were obtained from the Spanish Survey of Working Conditions. Nationality was considered as an explicative variable, and the country of origin was regrouped according to the Human Development Index-HDI. Occupational accidents were the outcome. Other variables included were sociodemographic and employment conditions. Prevalences were calculated as well as simple and adjusted odds ratio (OR) (logistic regression) with a 95% confidence interval (CI 95%). Results. The prevalence of occupational accidents was 12.7% (women, 11.1%) for workers from low HDI countries and 10.3% (women, 8.1%) for Spaniards. A higher risk of occupational accidents was observed among women from low HDI countries compared to Spaniards (adjusted OR 1.66; 95%CI 1.21-2.28). Discussion. It is necessary to conduct a more thorough causal analysis of occupational accidents among immigrants in order to identify risk factors and strengthen prevention and control strategies.

[The migratory process, working conditions and health in immigrant workers in Spain (the ITSAL project)].

OBJECTIVE To describe the migratory process (reasons for migrating, time of residence), legal status and the personal, working and health characteristics of the immigrants with work experience in Spain. METHODS We performed a cross sectional survey in a sample stratified by country of origin (Colombia, Ecuador, Morocco and Romania), legal status and sex. Personal interviews were conducted with 2434 workers (57.4% men). Information on the migratory process, working conditions, health profile, and work and life expectations was analyzed. A frequency comparison by country of origin was carried out. RESULTS Ninety percent of the sample was aged<45 years and most had secondary education (51%). Most of the people surveyed had migrated for economic and working reasons and 63% had economic dependents. They were working in jobs that were below their educational level and reported problems concerning the type of contract, salaries, and the length of the working week, which was often more than 40 hours. The immigrants frequently reported general health problems (18%), mental health problems (27%), absence from work due to health problems (48%) and occupational injuries requiring medical care (23%). A 51% of them wanted to stay in Spain and 48% reported that their expectations of emigration to Spain had been met. CONCLUSIONS The immigrant workers included in this study had limited opportunities for work and experienced precarious conditions and social vulnerability. The data varied by country of origin. The special needs of this collective should be taken into account to establish public health policies and strategies.

Indoor radon in Spanish workplaces. A pilot study before the introduction of the European Directive 2013/59/Euratom

OBJECTIVE To explore whether there is a possible problem regarding indoor radon concentration surpassing the new European Directive 2013/59/Euratom threshold in Spanish workplaces. We also aim to find out whether radon concentration might be associated with certain characteristics of workplaces. METHOD We performed a cross-sectional study to measure indoor radon concentrations in Spanish workplaces including five different sectors (education, public administration, the health sector, the tourist sector and the private sector). To be measured, the workplace should be occupied permanently by at least one worker. Alpha-track type radon detectors were placed for at least three months and read at the Galician Radon Laboratory at the University of Santiago de Compostela. A descriptive analysis was performed on radon distribution by sector, building characteristics and number of workers affected. RESULTS We faced enormous difficulties in finding volunteers for this study. Galicia and Madrid had the highest number of measurements. Of a total of 248 measurements, 27% had concentrations above 300 Bq/m3. Median radon concentration was 251 Bq/m3 in Galicia, followed by Madrid, with 61.5 Bq/m3. Forty-six percent of the workplaces measured in Galicia had radon concentrations higher than 300 Bq/m3 followed by 10.6% in Madrid. Nineteen percent of all workers were exposed to more than 300 Bq/m3 and 6.3% were exposed to radon concentrations higher than 500 Bq/m3. CONCLUSION Indoor radon exposure might be a relevant problem in Spanish workplaces and the number of affected workers could be high. The prevalence of workers exposed to high radon concentrations probably depends on the geographical area.

Characteristics, Activities and Perceptions of Spanish Safety Representatives

In Spain, under the Law for the Prevention of Occupational Health Risks (1995), all workplaces with six or more workers should have one or more safety representatives. Previous Spanish legislation did not contemplate any structured arrangement for workers’ participation in decisions related to occupational health and safety at workplace level.

De la encuesta a la base de datos: experiencia de trabajo de campo del estudio «Inmigración, trabajo y salud» (Proyecto ITSAL)

Objetivo A pesar de la necesidad de informacion sobre salud de las poblaciones inmigrantes, los datos disponibles son escasos. El presente estudio describe el trabajo de campo en un estudio transversal sobre salud de los trabajadores inmigrantes en Espana. Metodo Muestra de conveniencia de trabajadores procedentes de Colombia, Ecuador, Marruecos y Rumania, por itinerarios, en cuatro ciudades. Se calcularon los indicadores de resultados propuestos por la American Association of Public Opinion Research. Resultados Se accedio a 6504 personas, de las cuales el 71,4% cumplian criterios de inclusion, y de ellos solo el 57,8% completo la entrevista. Las tasas de respuesta y cooperacion superaron el 50%. Conclusiones La estrategia de muestreo por itinerarios ha permitido a los encuestadores acceder a esta poblacion. Tambien ha sido beneficiosa la participacion de encuestadores especialmente formados y con un perfil similar al de la poblacion objetivo.