Racial And Ethnic Differences In The Frequency Of Workplace Injuries And Prevalence Of Work-Related Disability.
Occupational injuries and illnesses lead to significant health care costs and productivity losses for millions of workers each year. This study used national survey data to test for differences between members of minority groups and non-Hispanic white workers in the risk of workplace injuries and the prevalence of work-related disabilities. Non-Hispanic black workers and foreign-born Hispanic workers worked in jobs with the highest injury risk, on average, even after adjustment for education and sex. These elevated levels of workplace injury risk led to a significant increase in the prevalence of work-related disabilities for non-Hispanic black and foreign-born Hispanic workers. These findings suggest that disparities in economic opportunities expose members of minority groups to increased risk of workplace injury and disability.
Seth A. Seabury (seabury@usc.edu) is a visiting associate professor of ophthalmology and director of the Keck-Schaeffer Initiative for Population Health Policy at the Keck School of Medicine and the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, both at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. He is also a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Seth A
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Sophie Terp is an assistant professor of clinical emergency medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California.
Sophie
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Terp
Leslie I. Boden is a professor of environmental health at the School of Public Health, Boston University, in Massachusetts.
Leslie I
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D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019352:Censuses; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D044469:Racial Groups; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017132:Workplace / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
Disparities; Health Economics; Minority Health; Public Health