Migrant Worker Health

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Migrant Worker ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
High Status ◽  
New Host ◽  
Worker Health

More than 150 million international migrant workers and an unknown number of internal migrant workers toil across the globe. More than workplace exposures affect migrant worker health; their health is also affected by exposures in the sociocultural milieu from which they came and in which they currently live. Although some of these migrant workers include professionals in high-status occupations such as doctors, nurses, engineers, and computer scientists, most are low skill workers employed in the most dangerous jobs in the most hazardous industries. The health of these migrant workers has been a long-term concern in public health, and this concern has increased with the rise of greater globalization, the recent growth of displaced and refugee populations that will need to enter the workforce in their new host countries, and the anticipated effects of climate change. The domain of migrant worker health is expansive, and is necessarily limited in this bibliography. This bibliography focuses on workers and not the family members who may accompany them, although other family members also may be workers. It focuses on low-skill migrant workers, rather than on professionals who migrate for work. Low-skill migrant workers are the individuals for whom health and public health are concerns. Additionally, research on the health of migrant professional workers is scant. At the same time, this bibliography attempts to place migrant worker health in a holistic context; because migrant worker health is affected by more than workplace exposures, the bibliography addresses exposures in their current sociocultural milieu. This bibliography has three major sections. The first section summarizes general resources that provide information on migrant workers, including International Agencies, Nongovernmental Organizations, Data Sources, Reference Works, and Journals. The second section addresses the characteristics of migrant workers that affect their health, including their Personal Characteristics, the Circumstances of Migration, Forced Migration, Industries which employ migrant workers, and 3-D Jobs: Dangerous, Dirty, and Demanding. The final section considers the health status of migrant workers, with discussions of Conceptual Frameworks for understanding migrant worker health, Work Organization Exposures, Environmental Exposures, Sociocultural Exposures, Health Conditions, Approaches to Improve Migrant Worker Health, and Policy/Regulations.

Occupational Health Challenges for Immigrant Workers

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Q. Ahonen
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Migrant Worker ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Immigrant Worker ◽  
Worker Health

Occupational health and safety concerns classically encompass conditions and hazards in workplaces which, with sufficient exposure, can lead to injury, distress, illness, or death. The ways in which work is organized and the arrangements under which people are employed have also been linked to worker health. Migrants are people who cross borders away from their usual place of residence, and about one in seven people worldwide is a migrant. Terms like “immigrant” and “emigrant” refer to the direction of that movement relative to the stance of the speaker. Any person who might be classified as a migrant and who works or seeks to work is an immigrant worker and may face challenges to safety, health, and well-being related to the work he or she does. The economic, legal, and social circumstances of migrant workers can place them into employment and working conditions that endanger their safety, health, or well-being. While action in support of migrant worker health must be based on systematic understanding of these individuals’ needs, full understanding the possible dangers to migrant worker health is limited by conceptual and practical challenges to public health surveillance and research about migrant workers. Furthermore, intervention in support of migrant worker health must balance tensions between high-risk and population-based approaches and need to address the broader, structural circumstances that pattern the health-related experiences of migrant workers. Considering the relationships between work and health that include but go beyond workplace hazards and occupational injury, and engaging with the ways in which structural influences act on health through work, are complex endeavors. Without more critically engaging with these issues, however, there is a risk of undermining the effectiveness of efforts to improve the lot of migrant workers by “othering” the workers or by failing to focus on what is causing the occupational safety and health concern in the first place—the characteristics of the work people do. Action in support of migrant workers should therefore aim to ameliorate structural factors that place migrants into disadvantageous conditions while working to improve conditions for all workers.

Where is work organization in total worker health?

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Schnall ◽  
Marnie Dobson ◽  
Paul Landsbergis
Keyword(s):  
Work Organization ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Total Worker Health

scholarly journals Perceived vulnerability to COVID-19 infection from event attendance: results from Louisiana, USA, two weeks preceding the national emergency declaration

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ran Li ◽  
Bingcheng Yang ◽  
Jerrod Penn ◽  
Bailey Houghtaling ◽  
Juan Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Food Preference ◽  
Classification Tree ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Initial Response ◽  
Income Group ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Preference Study

Abstract Background Individual perceptions of personal and national threats posed by COVID-19 shaped initial response to the pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in residents’ awareness about COVID-19 and to characterize those who were more aware and responsive during the early stages of the pandemic in Louisiana. Methods In response to the mounting threat of COVID-19, we added questions to an ongoing food preference study held at Louisiana State University from March 3rd through March 12th, 2020. We asked how likely it was that the spread of the coronavirus will cause a national public health crisis and participants’ level of concern about contracting COVID-19 by attending campus events. We used regression and classification tree analysis to identify correlations between these responses and (a) national and local COVID case counts; (b) personal characteristics and (c) randomly assigned information treatments provided as part of the food preference study. Results We found participants expressed a higher likelihood of an impending national crisis as the number of national and local confirmed cases increased. However, concerns about contracting COVID-19 by attending campus events rose more slowly in response to the increasing national and local confirmed case count. By the end of this study on March 12th, 2020 although 89% of participants agreed that COVID-19 would likely cause a public health crisis, only 65% of the participants expressed concerns about contracting COVID-19 from event attendance. These participants were significantly more likely to be younger students, in the highest income group, and to have participated in the study by responding to same-day, in-person flyer distribution. Conclusions These results provide initial insights about the perceptions of the COVID-19 public health crisis during its early stages in Louisiana. We concluded with suggestions for universities and similar institutions as in-person activities resume in the absence of widespread vaccination.

Language competence, identity construction and discursive boundary-making: Distancing and alignment in domestic migrant worker narratives

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (262) ◽  
pp. 97-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans J. Ladegaard
Keyword(s):  
Identity Construction ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Migrant Worker ◽  
Theoretical Concept ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Boundary Making

AbstractMany people in developing countries are faced with a dilemma. If they stay at home, their children are kept in poverty with no prospects of a better future; if they become migrant workers, they will suffer long-term separation from their families. This article focuses on one of the weakest groups in the global economy: domestic migrant workers. It draws on a corpus of more than 400 narratives recorded at a church shelter in Hong Kong and among migrant worker returnees in rural Indonesia and the Philippines. In sharing sessions, migrant women share their experiences of working for abusive employers, and the article analyses how language is used to include and exclude. The women tell how their employers construct them as “incompetent” and “stupid” because they do not speak Chinese. However, faced by repression and marginalisation, the women use their superior English language skills to get back at their employers and momentarily gain the upper hand. Drawing on ideologies of language as the theoretical concept, the article provides a discourse analysis of selected excerpts focusing on language competence and identity construction.

scholarly journals Addressing the Needs of Migrant Workers in ICUs in Singapore

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 238212052097719
Author(s):  
Crystal Lim ◽  
Jamie Xuelian Zhou ◽  
Natalie Liling Woong ◽  
Min Chiam ◽  
Lalit Kumar Radha Krishna
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Migrant Worker ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Medical Terminology ◽  
Singapore General Hospital ◽  
Medical Interpreters ◽  
General Wards

Background: With nearly 400 000 migrant workers in Singapore, many from Bangladesh, India and Myanmar, language and cultural barriers posed a great many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was especially so as majority of the COVID-19 clusters in Singapore emerged from their communal dormitories. With concerns arising as to how this minority group could be best cared for in the intensive care units, the need for medical interpreters became clear. Main: In response, the Communication and Supportive Care (CSC) workgroup at the Singapore General Hospital developed the ‘Medical Interpreters Training for ICU Conversations’ program. Led by a medical social worker-cum-ethicist and 2 palliative care physicians, twenty volunteers underwent training. The program comprised of 4 parts. Firstly, volunteers were provided with an overview of challenges within the COVID-19 isolation ICU environment. Discussed in detail were common issues between patients and families, forms of distress faced by healthcare workers, family communication modality protocols, and the sociocultural demographics of Singapore’s migrant worker population. Secondly, key practice principles and ‘Do’s/Don’ts’ in line with the ethical principles of medical interpretation identified by the California Healthcare Interpreters Association were shared. Thirdly, practical steps to consider before, during and at the end of each interpretation session were foregrounded. Lastly, a focus group discussion on the complexities of ICU cases and their attending issues was conducted. Targeted support was further provided in response to participant feedback and specific issues raised. Conclusion: As a testament to its efficacy, the program has since been extended to the general wards and the Ministry of Health in Singapore has further commissioned similar programs in various hospitals. In-depth training on the fundamentals of medical terminology, language and cultural competency should be provided to all pertinent healthcare workers and hospitals should consider hiring medical interpreters in permanent positions.

scholarly journals Beyond the Normative Family Meal Promotion: A Narrative Review of Qualitative Results about Ordinary Domestic Commensality

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 3186
Author(s):  
Fairley Le Moal ◽  
Maxime Michaud ◽  
Carol Hartwick-Pflaum ◽  
Georgia Middleton ◽  
Isabelle Mallon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Family Meals ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Mental Load ◽  
Family Meal ◽  
External Constraints ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
The Family

There exists a normative representation of family meals in contemporary Western societies which is promoted as imperative through public health programs, larger discourses and by some studies in the nutritional and public health research fields. Family meals, also called domestic commensality, are represented as convivial events and are associated with positive health and wellbeing outcomes but there is minimal evidence to show they are beneficial for family members and it is not known which aspect of the family meal could be responsible for these alleged benefits. This normative family meal image is based on a representation of the family as a peaceful unit exempt from external constraints. This narrative literature review of qualitative studies of family meals seeks to put forward the underlying premises of this representation and compare it with reports about actual practices. The results emphasize that eating together is still practiced and remains valued by family members, which is in contrast to discourses lamenting the decline of the family meal. However, the valorisation and recurrence of family meals depends on class, gender and cultural positions. There is a gap between the norm of healthy or convivial and achievable family meals, which can reinforce the so-called “mental load” and “emotion work” of those in charge of feeding the family and heighten inequalities within the household. In fact, there are many challenges to family meals which originate from external constraints or are inherent aspects of family life. The results from this review suggest that we should focus on family meals by taking into account the food work surrounding it and focussing on the interactional aspects of family meals. Ethnographic methods allow the researcher to observe the diversities and complexities of commensality as well as family dynamics and, in doing so, could provide more realistic representations of eating within the family.

Alternative Workstations: Magic Pills for Office Worker Health?

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 460-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia-Hua Lin ◽  
Carisa Harris-Adamson ◽  
Stephen Bao ◽  
David Rempel ◽  
Lora Cavuoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Computer Work ◽  
Musculoskeletal Symptoms ◽  
Office Worker ◽  
Audience Participation ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Workplace Interventions ◽  
Worker Health

Routine office or computer work are of public health concerns due to their sedentary nature. Sit- stand desks may be prescribed for employees based on medical or ergonomic factors. Sit-stand or active workstations, either assigned to individual workers or made available in “unassigned” office areas are also making inroads into the workplace with the goal of reducing sedentary work, varying (alternating) work postures, improving productivity, or accommodating workers with musculoskeletal symptoms. This diverse panel will present recent research and practice findings and invite audience participation in a discussion of this trending topic. Studies examining the effects of sit-stand or active workstations on physiological and cardiovascular outcomes will be reported. The effects on movement patterns, performance and productivity will also be examined. Real workplace interventions and examples of practices will be presented. The goal is to provide a forum to share our understanding about the benefits and limitations of various office workstation designs and discuss research needs.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and reverse migration of workers during lock down their health and prevention

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 2411-2415
Author(s):  
Milind Abhimanyu Nisargandha ◽  
Shweta Dadarao Parwe
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Migrant Worker ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
Indian Government ◽  
Reverse Migration ◽  
Metropolitan Cities ◽  
Coronavirus Infection ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Native Place ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Migrant workers are a valuable community for developing the Indian economy; adverse effect occurs on their mental and physical health during this pandemic situation. The coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic emerged in India due to spread nationwide from China, Wuhan city, and then Spread overall, 213 Countries and Territories worldwide have been reported. The Indian Government immediately set up a lockdown and quarantined the patients in the hospital and declared that area as a contentment Zone to avoid infection transmission. In this pandemic situation, many labour workers were living with their families in metropolitan cities. The urgent demand for public transport in the migrant workers from different states in India. For reaching them to the native place. These lead to spreading the coronavirus infection and increase the cases of nCOVID-19. It concluded that public health services and transportation for the migrant worker to reach the native place from all states. A maximum number of trains were needed, rather than travel restriction aware of them regarding wearing of Mask, Handwashing, and Quarantine after travelled. It has been six months since COVID -19; many questions remain unanswered about the coronavirus and its pathology. It was clear by global authorities that countries need to plan and increase health clear awareness and facilities for the migrant workers. 

LEGAL PROTECTION FOR ILLEGAL INDONESIAN WORKER IN MALAYSIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asnu Fayakun Arohmi
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Migrant Worker ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Legal Research ◽  
State Budget ◽  
Indonesian Government ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
The Law

This research examines the legal protection provided for illegal Indonesian workers in Malaysia and the obstacles to perform it. Malaysia are the largest number compared to another country in Asia in receiving migrant workers from Indonesia. In total there are 73.178 migrant workers. A large number of Indonesian migrant workers is caused by the lack of jobs vacancy in the country, so citizens look for a job abroad. The requirements to become Indonesian migrant workers are not easy, therefore many of them went abroad illegally. Illegal Indonesian workers often get inhuman treatment. Indonesian goverment should protect every citizen, even though they are illegal workers, since they are still Indonesian citizen. This paper is based on normative-empirical legal research with the data obtained from interviews, as well as from secondary sources provided in laws governing these matters, journals or from trusted sites of internet. The results of this study show that: first, the Law No. 18 of 2017 on Protection of Migrant Worker does not differentiate the protection for illegal and legal Indonesian migrant workers. Second, there are two obstacles faced by the Indonesian government: lack of data regarding the illegal Indonesian workers and lack of state budget to handle the protection of illegal Indonesian workers.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document