This study will provide a new investigator with the opportunity to develop skills in community-based occupational health research while working under the guidance of two experienced mentors. The investigator will take advantage of the local availability of researchers, institutes, and programs with extensive accomplishments in community research. The overall goal of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of community-based data collection and occupational health interventions among minority populations which include large numbers of immigrants. The principal objectives of this study are to develop and pilot community-based data collection methods for occupational health research among defined groups of minority workers, identify barriers to accessing occupational health services for these workers, and identify common work-related hazards and health effects among these workers. Data collected in surveys will be compared with existing data sources. Interventions to improve the target population's access to occupational health services will he developed and tested.
The specific aims are to obtain data from the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Massachusetts Accidents, local hospital emergency departments, and household surveys on work-related acute health effects among Lowell residents with Southeast Asian ethnic identities. Data from existing data bases and surveys will be compared. Barriers to preventive and curative occupational health services will be described. A series of discussions and workshops involving representatives of the target populations, government agencies, and community organizations will be held to disseminate information on occupational health and develop interventions in this context. This is a descriptive epidemiology and intervention study targeting workers 'from Southeast Asian ethnic groups in Lowell. Methods will include descriptive analysis of existing occupational health data bases, household surveys to obtain quantitative data on work- related hazards and health effects, and household surveys to obtain qualitative data on hazards, health effects, and barriers to preventive and curative services. Interventions will be developed in cooperation with a community-based coalition and piloted for their feasibility and effectiveness.
| Roelofs, Cora; Azaroff, Lenore S; Holcroft, Christina et al. (2008) Results from a community-based occupational health survey of Vietnamese-American nail salon workers. J Immigr Minor Health 10:353-61 |
