Abstract
Background: Migrant workers (MWs) generally perform dangerous jobs and have reduced access to occupational health (OH) care, therefore being prone to developing occupational diseases (OD). The aim of the work is to describe a case series of MWs and report on related outcomes for OH professionals. Methods: A case series of 724 MWs, sent from January 2001 to June 2013 to a public OH unit for OD or fitness-for-work (FFW) evaluation, was entered in a dedicated database and elaborated for descriptive statistics with Microsoft Excel. Results: MWs were mostly (75%) men, with a mean age of 40. They came mainly from Morocco, Senegal, Albania, Romania, and Pakistan. Main sectors of employment were manufacturing, metal industry, services, construction. OD were found in 210 cases, main diagnoses being: Lumbar disc and upper limb musculoskeletal disorders (51%), contact dermatitis (15%), allergic asthma (8%), noise-induced hearing loss (7%), tumors (3%), psychiatric disorders (2%). Moreover, 136 FFW judgements were formulated, with some limitations/restrictions expressed. Finally, a relevant prevalence of some chronic non-occupational diseases was found. Conclusions: MWs in Italy may suffer from OH inequalities. Qualified public OH professionals and occupational physicians in workplaces should have a proactive role to concretely meet MWs’ health needs.
Highlights
An experience of more than 10 years is reported, stemming from daily activities performed at a Northern Italy public Occupational Health Unit, located within a highly industrialized area, where it is has been estimated that migrants represent 14% of the assisted population [19]
A sort of labour market segmentation was evident, with gender and nationality substantially influencing the type of job engaged: African and South American women typically worked as auxiliary health personnel; men from East Europe, North, Central, and West Africa were predominantly occupied in construction, metal, and manufacturing industry; Indians usually worked in agriculture
The occupational health community is increasingly turning its attention to the effects of work on migrant workers, and researchers have identified examples of disparities in occupational health outcomes [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
Summary
10% of the national population [9], and about 2.5 million migrant workers (67% from non-EU countries, 33% from EU countries) that are mainly employed in health and social services (27%), industry (17%), and trade (11%) sectors [10,11]. As widely documented by the literature, migrant workers in Italy are mainly employed in manual, unqualified jobs that Italians tend not to perform anymore and tend to be more hired by precarious contracts and present a higher risk of work injuries. Migrant workers (MWs) generally perform dangerous jobs and have reduced access to occupational health (OH) care, being prone to developing occupational diseases (OD). Methods: A case series of 724 MWs, sent from January 2001 to June 2013 to a public OH unit for OD or fitness-for-work (FFW) evaluation, was entered in a dedicated database and elaborated for descriptive statistics with Microsoft Excel. Qualified public OH professionals and occupational physicians in workplaces should have a proactive role to concretely meet MWs’ health needs
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