Mark Woodin

Mark Woodin, senior lecturer and research assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, published Occupational Health Outcomes Among Self-Identified Immigrant Workers Living and Working in Somerville, Massachusetts 2006–2009 in Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health with a cross-collaboration of Tufts co-authors from different disciplines, namely, Bindu Panikkar (PhD ’11), Doug Brugge (TUSM Professor), Anne Marie Desmarais (CEE lecturer), Raymond Hyatt (TUSM assoc. professor), and David Gute (SoE Professor). The abstract is below –

This study examines the burden of occupational health risks among a convenience sample of three immigrant worker populations (Brazilian, Haitian, and El Salvadoran) in Somerville, Massachusetts. In this community based research initiative (n = 346), logistic regression is used to analyze immigrant occupational health survey data collected from 2006 to 2009. In this study, injuries at work were significantly associated with lower English proficiency (OR = 1.8, 95 % CI 1.1–3.0), workers between the ages of 46 and 65 (OR = 2.7, 95 % CI 1.0–7.0), service workers (OR = 13.8, 95 % CI 1.8–105.2), production workers (OR = 10.8, 95 % CI 1.3–90.1), construction workers (OR: 21.7, 95 % CI 2.8–170.9) and immigrants with no health insurance (OR = 1.8, 95 % CI 1.0–3.1). Injuries were negatively associated with years in the US with more established immigrants in the US [15 years reporting more injuries at work. Older immigrants who have been in the US longer but are less proficient in English, and are still employed in low-wage occupations with no health insurance suffered more injuries than recent immigrants. Further validation of this result is required.