Upper body musculoskeletal symptoms of Latino poultry processing workers and a comparison group of Latino manual workers

Abstract

Upper body musculoskeletal injuries are often attributed to rapid work pace and repetitive motions. These job features are common in poultry processing, an industry that relies on Latino immigrants. Few studies document the symptom burden of immigrant Latinos employed in poultry processing or other manual jobs. Latino poultry processing workers (n = 403) and a comparison population of 339 Latino manual workers reported symptoms for six upper body sites during interviews. We tabulated symptoms and explored factors associated with symptom counts. Back symptoms and wrist/hand symptoms lasting more than 1-day were reported by over 35% of workers. Poultry processing workers reported more symptoms than comparison workers, especially wrist and elbow symptoms. The number of sites at which workers reported symptoms was elevated for overtime workers and workers who spoke an indigenous language during childhood. Workplace conditions facing poultry processing and indigenous language speaking workers deserve further exploration.