Rights, responsibilities and (re)presentation: Using drawings to convey health and safety messages among immigrant workers.
BACKGROUND
Immigrant workers who are new to Canada are considered a vulnerable population under the Ontario Ministry of Labour Prevention Strategy for workplace safety. Posters outlining workplace safety rights and responsibilities may not be understandable to new immigrants.


OBJECTIVE
To explore visual approaches to making health and safety messages more understandable to new immigrants.


METHODS
This pilot study used arts-based qualitative research methods. Key messages from the Ministry of Labour Health & Safety at Work poster were (re)represented as images by an artist. Recent immigrants engaged in individual interviews and then took part in a focus group, in order to elicit their experiences of health and safety practices, their understanding and feedback concerning the Ministry poster, and the images created.


RESULTS
An image-rich version of the poster was developed. The combination of drawings and minimal text was preferred and considered helpful by participants. Barriers to health and safety and work challenges for new immigrants were highlighted. Visual analysis yielded new versions of the poster, as well as a pictorial representation of the research process and study findings.


CONCLUSIONS
The study demonstrates the value of using image-rich posters with immigrant workers, and the effectiveness of using arts-based methods within the research process.
Applied Health Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Chris
C
McKillop
Applied Health Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Janet A
JA
Parsons
Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Janet
J
Brown
Susan Scott Graphics, Peterborough, ON, Canada.
Susan
S
Scott
Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
D Linn
DL
Holness
Qualitative research; arts-based research methods; immigrant workers; occupational health and safety