ABSTRACT

The purposes of this study were to analyze Latino/a immigrant mushroom workers’ perceptions of how the workplace environment shapes occupational safety and health, examine whether and how those perceptions differ by gender, and identify future areas for research on occupational safety and health in the mushroom industry. Researchers conducted structured interviews with 15 women and 45 men on 6 Pennsylvania mushroom farms to obtain their descriptions and perspectives of safety and health risk factors in their workplaces. Approximately one third of respondents had suffered an injury at work, and nearly half felt that there are workplace factors that affect their health and safety. The study found that Latino/a mushroom farmworkers perceive risks that are posed by the indoor infrastructure of mushroom production houses, including poorly maintained wooden walkways and cool indoor temperatures, and by the organization of mushroom production work, including the application of chemicals including pesticides, physical demands of the job, use of small knives, contact with compost, and the piece rate payment system. Workers commonly discussed back pain and believed it was associated with the organization of work. Women in the sample were more likely to be concerned about slips and falls than men and less likely to be concerned about aches and pains. Mushroom farm infrastructure and the specific demands of the jobs pose occupational safety and health risks to Latino/a farmworkers that merit further study to develop adequate public health interventions. Future research should obtain gender-disaggregated objective reports of injury, aches and pains, and discomfort and test for relationships between these reports and the indoor infrastructure and conditions of mushroom production work.

摘要

本研究的目的是分析拉丁裔/移民蘑菇工人对工作场所环境如何影响职业安全与健康的看法，检查这些看法是否以及如何因性别而异，并确定职业安全与健康的未来研究领域蘑菇产业。研究人员对宾夕法尼亚州 6 个蘑菇农场的 15 名女性和 45 名男性进行了结构化访谈，以了解他们对工作场所安全和健康风险因素的描述和看法。大约三分之一的受访者在工作中受过伤，近一半的人认为工作场所的因素会影响他们的健康和安全。研究发现，拉丁裔/蘑菇农场工人认为蘑菇生产房屋的室内基础设施带来的风险，包括维护不善的木制人行道和凉爽的室内温度，以及蘑菇生产工作的组织，包括农药等化学品的应用、工作的体力要求、使用小刀、接触堆肥和计件工资制度。工人们普遍讨论背痛，并认为这与工作安排有关。样本中的女性比男性更关心滑倒和跌倒，而不太关心疼痛和疼痛。蘑菇农场基础设施和工作的具体要求对拉丁裔/农场工人构成职业安全和健康风险，值得进一步研究以制定适当的公共卫生干预措施。未来的研究应该获得按性别分类的受伤、疼痛和疼痛的客观报告，