Hospitality workers' attitudes and exposure to secondhand smoke, hazardous chemicals, and working conditions.
OBJECTIVE
Compelling reasons exist for labor and public health to collaborate. For example, compared to white-collar workers, blue-collar and service workers are much more likely to be targeted by the tobacco industry and become smokers. The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess if there were ways public health and labor could collaborate to document the health attitudes and needs of hospitality industry workers.


METHODS
Eligible union members were identified through an electronic enrollment file consisting of 3,659 names maintained by the union. The mail survey instrument covered exposure to secondhand smoke, exposure to hazardous chemicals and materials, time pressure and job demands, and work-related pain/disability. Additional questions related to age, gender, race/ethnicity, level of education, employment history, English proficiency, and self-reported health status.


RESULTS
Study results demonstrated that important health information could be successfully collected on unionized workers. Survey data showed that union members were a very diverse group who were exposed to secondhand smoke and supported working in clean-air settings. Workers, especially housekeeping staff, characterized their work as being chaotic and demanding, while almost half of workers reported work-related pain.


CONCLUSIONS
Key to the successful collaboration was establishing trust between the parties and emphasizing data collection that served the information needs of both organizations. Opportunities exist to improve the health and working conditions of this population. Health interventions need to be designed to take into consideration the very diverse, mostly female, and limited English proficiency of this group of workers.
Pearson
Dave
D
Group Health Community Foundation, 1730 Minor Ave., Ste. 1500, Seattle WA 98101, USA. pearson.d@ghc.org
Angulo
Antoinette
A
Bourcier
Emily
E
Freeman
Elizabeth
E
Valdez
Roger
R
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003625:Data Collection; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D016272:Occupational Health; D012147:Restaurants; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D014861:Washington; D017132:Workplace
D015386:Hazardous Substances; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution