Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Occupational Health Research Unit, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health, Barcelona, Spain.
J Epidemiol Community Health. 2009 Nov;63(11):936-42. doi: 10.1136/jech.2008.077016. Epub 2009 May 28.
Spain has recently become an inward migration country. Little is known about the occupational health of immigrant workers. This study aimed to explore the perceptions that immigrant workers in Spain had of their working conditions.
Qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study. Criterion sampling. Data collected between September 2006 and May 2007 through semi-structured focus groups and individual interviews, with a topic guide. One hundred and fifty-eight immigrant workers (90 men/68 women) from Colombia (n = 21), Morocco (n = 39), sub-Saharan Africa (n = 29), Romania (n = 44) and Ecuador (n = 25), who were authorised (documented) or unauthorised (undocumented) residents in five medium to large cities in Spain.
Participants described poor working conditions, low pay and health hazards. Perception of hazards appeared to be related to gender and job sector. Informants were highly segregated into jobs by sex, however, so this issue will need further exploration. Undocumented workers described poorer conditions than documented workers, which they attributed to their documentation status. Documented participants also felt vulnerable because of their immigrant status. Informants believed that deficient language skills, non-transferability of their education and training and, most of all, their immigrant status and economic need left them with little choice but to work under poor conditions.
The occupational health needs of immigrant workers must be addressed at the job level, while improving the enforcement of existing health and safety regulations. The roles that documentation status and economic need played in these informants' work experiences should be considered and how these may influence health outcomes.
西班牙最近成为了一个移民输入国。对于移民工人的职业健康，人们知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨西班牙移民工人对其工作条件的看法。
定性、探索性、描述性研究。标准抽样。2006 年 9 月至 2007 年 5 月期间，通过半结构焦点小组和个人访谈，使用主题指南收集数据。参与者为 158 名移民工人（90 名男性/68 名女性），来自哥伦比亚（n=21）、摩洛哥（n=39）、撒哈拉以南非洲（n=29）、罗马尼亚（n=44）和厄瓜多尔（n=25），他们在西班牙五个中大型城市中，有的是授权（有文件证明）居民，有的是未经授权（无文件证明）居民。
参与者描述了恶劣的工作条件、低工资和健康危害。对危害的认识似乎与性别和工作部门有关。由于工作按性别高度隔离，因此需要进一步探讨这一问题。无证工人描述的工作条件比有证工人差，他们将此归因于自己的文件状况。有文件证明的参与者也因自己的移民身份而感到脆弱。信息提供者认为，语言技能不足、教育和培训的不可转移性，以及最重要的是，他们的移民身份和经济需求，使他们别无选择，只能在恶劣的条件下工作。
必须在工作层面解决移民工人的职业健康需求，同时加强现有健康和安全法规的执行力度。应考虑文件状况和经济需求在这些信息提供者工作经历中所扮演的角色，以及这些因素如何影响健康结果。
