Citation

Seabury SA, Terp S, Boden LI. Health Aff. (Hope) 2017; 36(2): 266-273.

Affiliation

Leslie I. Boden is a professor of environmental health at the School of Public Health, Boston University, in Massachusetts.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Project HOPE - The People-to-People Health Foundation)

DOI

10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1185

PMID

28167715

Abstract

Occupational injuries and illnesses lead to significant health care costs and productivity losses for millions of workers each year. This study used national survey data to test for differences between members of minority groups and non-Hispanic white workers in the risk of workplace injuries and the prevalence of work-related disabilities. Non-Hispanic black workers and foreign-born Hispanic workers worked in jobs with the highest injury risk, on average, even after adjustment for education and sex. These elevated levels of workplace injury risk led to a significant increase in the prevalence of work-related disabilities for non-Hispanic black and foreign-born Hispanic workers. These findings suggest that disparities in economic opportunities expose members of minority groups to increased risk of workplace injury and disability.

Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

Disparities; Health Economics; Minority Health; Public Health