A Systematic Review of Community Health Workers’ Role in Occupational Safety and Health Research

Abstract

We systematically reviewed the literature to describe how community health workers (CHWs) are involved in occupational health and safety research and to identify areas for future research and research practice strategies. We searched five electronic databases from July 2015 through July 2016. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) study took place in the United States, (2) published as a full peer-review manuscript in English, (3) conducted occupational health and safety research, and (4) CHWs were involved in the research. The majority of 17 included studies took place in the agriculture industry (76%). CHWs were often involved in study implementation/design and research participant contact. Rationale for CHW involvement in research was due to local connections/acceptance, existing knowledge/skills, communication ability, and access to participants. Barriers to CHW involvement in research included competing demands on CHWs, recruitment and training difficulties, problems about research rigor and issues with proper data collection. Involving CHWs in occupational health and safety research has potential for improving inclusion of diverse, vulnerable and geographically isolated populations. Further research is needed to assess the challenges and opportunities of involving CHWs in this research and to develop evidence-based training strategies to teach CHWs to be lay-health researchers.

Pilot of a Community Health Worker Video Intervention for Immigrant Day Laborers at Occupational Health Risk

“…We also replicated the beneficial role of peer-support approaches in difficult-to-reach populations (33,34), and specifically, engagement with a promotor(a) in preventive medicine interventions to reduce occupational exposures (26,35). In the specific case of occupational health, working with promotores(as) to reach workers in high-risk jobs eases access and acceptance, particularly when workers are not protected by standard work arrangements (such as unions and benefits), or move worksites regularly to maintain employability (35). Working with promotores(as) as cultural and community gatekeepers and mediators greatly enhanced recruitment for and implementation of our pilot study.…”

“…CGHC identified Spanish-speaking day laborers who had direct knowledge of the community, were engaged in construction work and were aware of OSHA safety regulations. Previous research documents the common use of both formally trained community health workers (35), as well as individuals from the target population with knowledge of the community and commitment to public health to help develop and deliver a culturally sensitive and relevant intervention (33,37). The partnerships with a local community clinic trusted by the day laborers also was also key strength.…”

Cognitive and perceptual influences of architectural and urban environments with an emphasis on the experimental procedures and techniques

“…The quantitative version of the McMasters rating tool (McMasters Critical Review form) [24] was used to score and review all levels of the identified studies. The form is frequently used within systematic reviews that synthesize quantitative studies [24,25,26,27,28] and includes some criteria and domains to assess the quality of selected papers. All studies were assessed by first and second authors' Yes/No answers and investigated whether each of them was qualified or not.…”

Peran Dinas Tenaga Kerja Dan Transmigrasi Kepulauan Riau Dalam Melakukan Pengawasan Keselamatan Dan Kesehatan Kerja (K3).

“…Pada akhirnya, CHW bisa memainkan peran berharga dalam memfasilitasi akses dan dukungan penelitian di komunitas pekerja yang rentan. 20 Jadi penerapan K3 sebenarnya telah di beberapa negara, namun penerapan tersebut memiliki tindakan yang berbeda dalam penerapannya, sehingga dari 2 contoh di atas dapat dijadikan perbandingan penerapan K3 di negara Indonesia dan di salah satu kegiatan yang berada di suatu tempat yang berada di New York.…”