Work related injuries: estimating the incidence among illegally employed immigrants

Abstract

BackgroundStatistics on occupational accidents are based on data from registered employees. With the increasing number of immigrants employed illegally and/or without regular working visas in many developed countries, it is of interest to estimate the injury rate among such unregistered workers.FindingsThe current study was conducted in an area of North-Eastern Italy. The sources of information employed in the present study were the Accidents and Emergencies records of a hospital; the population data on foreign-born residents in the hospital catchment area (Health Care District 4, Primary Care Trust 20, Province of Verona, Veneto Region, North-Eastern Italy); and the estimated proportion of illegally employed workers in representative samples from the Province of Verona and the Veneto Region. Of the 419 A&E records collected between January and December 2004 among non European Union (non-EU) immigrants, 146 aroused suspicion by reporting the home, rather than the workplace, as the site of the accident. These cases were the numerator of the rate. The number of illegally employed non-EU workers, denominator of the rate, was estimated according to different assumptions and ranged from between 537 to 1,338 individuals. The corresponding rates varied from 109.1 to 271.8 per 1,000 non-EU illegal employees, against 65 per 1,000 reported in Italy in 2004.ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest that there is an unrecorded burden of illegally employed immigrants suffering from work related injuries. Additional efforts for prevention of injuries in the workplace are required to decrease this number. It can be concluded that the Italian National Institute for the Insurance of Work Related Injuries (INAIL) probably underestimates the incidence of these accidents in Italy.

A systematic review of working conditions and occupational health among immigrants in Europe and Canada

“…Most studies were cross-sectional ( n = 77), except for five with a longitudinal design [ 26 , 45 , 62 , 70 , 81 ]. Most studies were questionnaire-based surveys ( n = 66), except for some register-based studies of sick leave or disability pension [ 22 , 28 , 37 , 42 , 45 , 73 , 81 , 82 ] or work injury [ 16 , 20 , 26 , 29 , 40 , 50 , 59 ].…”

Arbeidsmiljø og helse blant innvandrerpopulasjoner

“…I alt ble 151 artikler lest i sin helhet, hvor av 92 oppfylte de opprinnelige inkluderingskriteriene (Aalto et al, 2014;Agudelo-Suarez et al, 2013;Agudelo-Suarez et al, 2011;Ahonen & Benavides, 2006;Alexe et al, 2003;Bergbom & Kinnunen, 2014;Bergbom et al, 2015;Bhui et al, 2005;Biering et al, 2016;Borrell et al, 2008;Cayuela et al, 2015;C. Chen et al, 2010;Chowhan, 2016;Connell et al, 2007;Cross & Turner, 2013;Davidson & Orr, 2009;Del Amo et al, 2011;Diaz-Serrano, 2013;Dunlavy et al, 2016;Dunlavy & Rostila, 2013;Elders et al, 2004;Font, Moncada, Llorens, et al, 2012;Frickmann et al, 2012;Gil-Gonzalez et al, 2014;Hogh et al, 2011;Hoppe, 2011;Johansson et al, 2012;Jonson & Giertz, 2013;Jorgensen et al, 2011;Krings et al, 2014;Kuusio et al, 2013;Mastrangelo et al, 2010;Miller & Travers, 2005;Nieuwenhuijsen et al, 2015;Olesen et al, 2012a;Olesen et al, 2012b;Pasca & Wagner, 2012;Perez-Carceles et al, 2014;Pikhart et al, 2010;Premji et...…”

“…De fleste studier var tverrsnittstudier (n = 77), kun fem studier hadde et oppfølgingsdesign Chen et al, 2010;Johansson et al, 2012;Robert et al, 2014;. En klar overvekt av studiene var spørreskjemabaserte undersøkelser (n = 6), med unntak av et antall registerbaserte studier som omhandlet sykefravaer eller uførepensjonering Elders et al, 2004;Johansson et al, 2012;Sole et al, 2013) eller arbeidsskade (Alexe et al, 2003;Biering et al, 2016;Chen et al, 2010;Connell et al, 2007;Frickmann et al, 2012;Mastrangelo et al, 2010;Premji et al, 2010). Studiene var fra Canada (n = 13), Tsjekkia (n = 2), Danmark (n = 8), Finland (n = 5), Tyskland (n = 2), Hellas (n = 1), Irland = 5), Italia (n = 2), Nederland (n = 2), Norge (n = 7), Spania (n = 20), Sverige (n = 8), Sveits (n = 2), Storbritannia (n = 4), og Europa (n = 1).…”

“…Seks registerbaserte studier av pasienter behandlet for arbeidsskader rapporterte at innvandrere var overrepresentert (Connell et al, 2007;Davidson & Orr, 2009;Frickmann et al, 2012;Gravseth et al, 2003;Mastrangelo et al, 2010;Saeed et al, 2010). Skadefrekvensen i 2004 blant illegalt ansatte innvandrere i Italia ble beregnet å variere fra 109−272 per 1 000, sammenliknet med 65 per 1 000 for den generelle yrkesbefolkningen (Mastrangelo et al, 2010). En sveitsisk studie av pasienter med antatte arbeidsskader ved en legevakt rapporterte at 66,4 % av de skadede var innvandrere; denne andelen var dobbelt så høy som den totale andelen innvandrere i Sveits (Frickmann et al, 2012).…”

Occupational accidents and occupational risk prevention

“…Moreover, it is well known that this category of workers is particularly vulnerable in terms of totally or partially off-the-books work which, for safety and insurance matters, is a major obstacle to the reduction of injuries (42)(43)(44). Hence, ensuring regular contractual positions for all employees must be the employer's main objective.…”