THURSDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Hispanic workers face a
greater risk of dying from work-related injuries, with one in three
deaths occurring in the construction industry, U.S. health
officials said Thursday.
Between 1992 and 2006, 11,303 Hispanic workers died from
work-related injuries. This represents approximately 13 percent of
all work-related deaths in the United States during that time, a
higher rate than for white or black workers, according to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Work-related fatalities are going down for the workforce in
general, but the disparity between Hispanic and non-Hispanic is
persistent and not going away," Dr. Sherry Baron, coordinator of
the Occupational Health Disparities Program at the U.S. National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said during a
teleconference.
"In 2006, the rate was 25 percent higher in Hispanics compared
to all workers," Baron said. "Most striking is the especially high
rate for foreign-born Hispanic workers. Foreign-born Hispanic
workers had a 70 percent higher rate of work-related injury deaths
compared to native-born Hispanic workers," she said.
According to previous CDC research, Hispanic workers are at
greater risk because of language and cultural barriers and
inadequate training and supervision.
And while the immigration status of the workers in the new study
couldn't be ascertained, it may also have played a role, Baron
said. "As with all workers who are in a marginal economic
situation, immigrant workers may be afraid to speak up about safety
concerns because of fears of retaliation," she said.
Hispanics represent the fastest growing segment of the U.S.
workforce. In 2006, approximately 19.6 million U.S. workers were
Hispanic. Of these, 56 percent were foreign-born, according to a
report in the June 6 issue of the CDC's
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The average age of Hispanic workers who died from work-related
injuries was 35, compared with 42 for other workers. Also, 95
percent of Hispanics who died were men.
Except for 1995, the annual rate of work-related deaths among
Hispanic workers was greater than for all other U.S. workers. In
2006, deaths among Hispanic workers were 5.0 per 100,000, compared
with 4.0 per 100,000 for white workers, and 3.7 per 100,000 for
black workers, according to the report.
From 1992 to 1996, homicide was the most common cause of death
among Hispanic workers. These were mainly deaths that occurred
during workplace robberies, Baron said. Between 1997 and 2006,
highway accidents were the most common cause of death. These
included traffic fatalities and workers killed while during
roadwork.
But from 2000 to 2006, falls were the most common cause of
deaths among Hispanic workers. From 1992 to 2006, work-related
homicides among Hispanics dropped by 37 percent. However, during
the same time frame, deaths from falls increased approximately 370
percent.
Among Hispanic workers who died between 2003 and 2006, 67
percent were born outside the United States, with 70 percent coming
from Mexico.
High-risk jobs, such as construction, were one of the main
factors leading to higher death rates among Hispanic workers. From
2003 to 2006, most Hispanics who died from work-related injuries
worked in construction (34 percent). Other jobs with high death
rates for Hispanics included administrative and waste services (11
percent), agriculture/forestry/fishing/hunting (10 percent), and
transportation/warehousing (10 percent), the report found.
The greatest number of deaths were in California (773), followed
by Texas (687) and Florida (417). The highest rates of deaths among
Hispanic workers were in South Carolina, with 22.8 deaths per
100,000; Oklahoma with 10.3 deaths per 100,000; Georgia with 9.6
deaths per 100,000; and Tennessee with 8.9 deaths per 100,000,
according to the CDC.
To prevent work-related deaths among Hispanics, employers need
to provide a safer working environment, and government safety and
health agencies need to provide Hispanic workers with safety
information and to ensure that worksites comply with existing
safety regulations, Baron said.
The CDC also thinks there is a need to develop better and
"culturally appropriate" materials to overcome language barriers
and varying levels of literacy, Baron said.
More information
For more on work-related deaths, visit the
CDC's National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
