Progress Toward Elimination of Health Disparities

The following discussion highlights progress toward the elimination of health disparities. The disparities are illustrated in the Disparities Table (see Figure 20-2), which displays information about disparities among select populations for which data were available for assessment.

Limited data were available to assess disparities among select racial and ethnic groups, genders, education and income levels, and persons with and without disabilities. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) fatality data are analyzed by race, ethnicity, and gender for selected industry categories that are different and therefore not comparable to the categories used for estimating total industry rates (20-1b through e). Numbers, but not rates, by race, ethnicity, and gender are available for other BLS data, such as the data used for overexertion or repetitive motion (20-3) and work-related homicides (20-5). As a result, consistent and reliable data on disparities existed for only two subobjectives: injury deaths in all industry (20-1a) and injuries of adolescent workers (20-2h).

The disparity between the fatal injury rate for workers in the Hispanic population and the black non-Hispanic population (the best group rate) was closing (20-1a). Overall, the fatal injury rate for the Hispanic group had a disparity gap of 10 percent to 49 percent from the best rate. However, the fatal injury rate for the Hispanic group also decreased by about 25 percentage points between 1998 and 2003. The fatal injury rate for the white non-Hispanic population varied from the best rate by less than 10 percent, which was not statistically significant; data were unavailable for all other racial and ethnic groups.

Several efforts are under way to address the need for improved surveillance, prevention, outreach, education, and training for the Hispanic population, with a special emphasis on those who are foreign born. For example, through its Spanish-language website,⁴² NIOSH provides translations of selected publications and links to other Spanish-language materials, as well as referral to a toll-free number for followup inquiries. In 2004, "The Symposium on Immigrant Worker Safety and Health" focused on improving surveillance and intervention research regarding immigrant workers.⁴³

With regard to gender, the disparity in injury death rate (20-1a) for male workers was more than 100 percent greater than the rate for female workers, reflecting higher employment levels of males in those industries at substantial risk for injury deaths. The nonfatal injury rate (20-2h) for male workers 15 to 17 years of age was also higher than the rate for female workers; however, the disparity decreased 10 to 49 percentage points between 1998 and 2000.

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