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Occupational Exposures and Health Outcomes Among Immigrants in the USA

  • Occupational Health (LT Stayner and P Demers, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Immigrants experience higher rates of occupational injury and fatality than their native-born counterparts. This review summarizes the current data related to occupational/environmental exposures and explores potential reasons for the disparities.

Recent Findings

Immigrant workers are employed in sectors that expose them to dangerous working conditions. They experience increased risk for exposure to heat, pesticides, hazardous chemicals, and cleaning agents, as well as physical hazards such as falls.

Summary

Immigrant workers are at increased risk for occupational injury and fatality due to the nature of the work they traditionally perform, a lack of enforced safety regulations, and limited access to health care or worker’s compensation benefits.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, Samuel Merritt University, 3100 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, CA, 94609, USA

    Sally C. Moyce

  2. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Marc Schenker

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  1. Sally C. Moyce
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Correspondence to Marc Schenker.

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Sally C. Moyce and Marc Schenker declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Occupational Health

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Moyce, S.C., Schenker, M. Occupational Exposures and Health Outcomes Among Immigrants in the USA. Curr Envir Health Rpt 4, 349–354 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-017-0152-1

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