Tufts University

Assessing and Controlling Occupational Risks Among Immigrants in Somerville, MA

Funded by the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH)

David M. Gute
david.gute@tufts.edu

Project Description

Tufts University, in concert with its partners, the Immigrant Service Providers Group (ISPG) as the community-based organization and the Cambridge Health Alliance as the health care provider is implementing this four-year, three-part program to address occupational health risks to immigrant workers in Somerville, MA. Somerville, known as a ‘gateway’ community due to the diverse variety of immigrant populations and community organizations, as well as remarkable temporal shifts in its immigrant population, represents a unique laboratory for this activity. For example, this project leverages existing peer youth and adult educational training and advocacy programs for immigrants. These programs have been successfully implemented by certain members of the ISPG (Haitian Coalition and the Community Action Agency of Somerville) on issues ranging from tobacco use to ambient environmental hazards. We are extending the impact of these successes in designing a sustainable, community-based capability to assess, characterize, and reduce occupational health risks in immigrant populations. Further, we believe that the very structure and organization of work influences such key issues such as immigrant empowerment and the sustainability of interventions aimed at lessening the impact of occupational injury, illness and mortality. As a result, we are launching a pilot Green Cleaning Cooperative to address occupational risks encountered by female immigrant workers engaged in domestic services. This aspect of our project will leverage the work of the Collaboration for Better Work Environment for Brazilians (COBWEB) project based at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and at the Brazilian Immigrant Center in Boston. Also, the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) will be a key partner by contributing occupational content, materials and training to this grant. This partnership establishes a link to the Dorchester Occupational Health Initiative another nearby work and environment project. Our project builds upon past successes of our partners (peer leadership) and leverages investments made in nearby projects. We use an annual immigrant occupational assessment to identify needs and best practices in Somerville and actively seek to disseminate this information to other cities and towns with substantial immigrant populations in concert with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and the Boston Public Health Commission.

Project Aims

1. Create and implement an annual on-going needs assessment that will characterize and track changes in the understanding of occupational risks and job-related work practices among immigrant populations residing in Somerville.
2. Establish a Teen Educator-based sustainable community capability for gathering and disseminating information on work and health among these immigrant populations.
3. Create a community-based organizational structure, a cooperative, to address work-related risks to immigrant workers in Somerville. The initial focus of the Cooperative will be to address the needs of women house cleaners.

Collaborators

Alex Pirie
Coordinator
Immigrant Services Provider Group

Rose Goldman, M.D.
Director, Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Cambridge Health Alliance

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