Assessing the contribution of working conditions to socioeconomic disparities in health: a commentary.
Source
Am J Ind Med 2010 Feb; 53(2):95-103
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Occupational health researchers can play a pivotal role in increasing our understanding of the role of physical and psychosocial working conditions in producing socioeconomic health disparities and trends of increasing socioeconomic health disparities, contributing to interventions to reduce such disparities, and helping to improve public education materials on this subject. However, a number of methodological challenges in this field need to be considered. METHODS: Commentary, including a review of selected studies. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: Research needs to be guided by models of the associations between social (socioeconomic position (SEP), race/ethnicity, immigration status, and gender) and occupational variables and health, to avoid inappropriate control for confounding, and to specify causal pathways (mediation) and interaction effects. Different approaches to the theory and measurement of SEP also need to be tested.
Keywords
Occupational-exposure; Occupational-health; Occupational-sociology; Physical-reactions; Psychological-effects; Psychological-factors; Psychological-responses; Psychophysiology; Racial-factors; Sociological-factors; Statistical-analysis; Work-analysis; Work-environment; Worker-health; Worker-motivation; Work-organization; Workplace-studies; Work-practices;
Author Keywords: socioeconomic status; health disparities; working conditions; occupational health disparities
Contact
Paul A. Landsbergis, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Box 43, State University of New York-Downstate School of Public Health, 450 Clarkson Ave., Brooklyn, NY 111203
Document Type
Journal Article
Email Address
paul.landsbergis@downstate.edu
Identifying No.
Grant-Number-R01-OH-007577
Source Name
American Journal of Industrial Medicine
Performing Organization
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
