Top

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health

Published in:

01-08-2012 | Original Paper

The Jornalero: Perceptions of Health Care Resources of Immigrant Day Laborers

Authors: Oscar A. Leclere, Rebecca A. López

Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health | Issue 4/2012

Abstract

Latino immigrant day laborers, also termed jornaleros or contingent workers, compose a significant segment of the millions of undocumented, temporary workers in our urban centers. These laborers largely work without benefit of health insurance in occupations that are unmonitored, unprotected, and often unsafe. This study utilized semi-structured interviews to explore the perceived health status and resources for health care in one group of 20 Latino day laborers in southern California. Results suggest a population that is largely in undocumented immigrant status with few health care resources other than emergency care centers and clinics provided for the homeless population. With close to 12 million undocumented workers currently residing in the US, this population bears additional scrutiny both for humanitarian reasons and for public health policy considerations.

Passel JS, Cohn D. Undocumented immigration now trails legal inflow, reversing decades-long trend. Pew Research Center. 2008. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/978/undocumented-immigration. Accessed 16 May 2009.

Passel JS, Cohn D. A portrait of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. Pew Research Center. 2009. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1190/portrait-unauthorized-immigrants-states. Accessed 16 May 2009.

Valenzuela A, Theodore N, Melendez E, Gonzalez A. On the corner: day labor in the United States. Los Angeles: Author; 2006. http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/issr/csup/uploaded_files/Natl_DayLabor_On_the_Corner1.pdf. Accessed 12 May 2009.

Valenzuela A Jr. Day labor work. Ann Rev Sociol. 2003;29:307–33.CrossRef

Neitzel R, Seixas N. Day labor and safety and health initiative report. University of Washington, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences; 2005. p. 1–24.

National Day Labor Organizing Network (NDLON). Common Ground, Los Angeles, CA. Written in conjunction with S. McCarty and G. Faraday, University of Maryland School of Law, Labor Law Clinic, 2008.

Walter N, Bourgois P, Loinaz M, Schillinger D. Social contexts of work injury among undocumented day laborers in San Francisco. J Gen Intern Med. 2002;17(3).

Dong X, Entzel P, Men Y, Chowdhury R, Schneider S. Effects of safety and health training on work-related injury among construction laborers. J Occup Environ Med. 2004;46(12):1222–8.PubMed

Pransky G, Moshenberg D, Benjamin K, Portillo S, Thackrey JL, Hill-Fotouhi C. Occupational risks and injuries in non-agricultural immigrant Latino workers. Am J Ind Med. 2002;42(2):117–23.PubMedCrossRef

10.

Livingston G, Minushkin S, Cohn D. Hispanics and health care in the United States: access, information and knowledge. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center; 2008.

11.

Valenzuela A. Working on the margins: immigrant day labor characteristics and prospects for employment. Los Angeles: Author; 2000.

12.

Worby P. Occupational health and Latino migrant day laborers: a preliminary exploration. A publication of the Institute for Labor and Employment (ILE): University of California. 2002.

13.

Quinlan M, Bohle P. Contingent work and occupational safety. In: Barling J, Frone M, editors. The psychology of workplace safety. Washington DC: American Psychological Society; 2004.

14.

Berk ML, Schur CL. The effect of fear on access to care among undocumented Latino immigrants. J Immigr Health. 2001;3(3):151–6.PubMedCrossRef

15.

Durden T, Hummer R. Access to healthcare among working-aged Hispanic adults in the United States. Soc Sci Q. 2006;87:1319–43.CrossRef

16.

Hubbell FA, Waitzkin H, MIshra SI, Dombrink J, Chavez LR. Access to medical care for documented and undocumented Latinos in a southern California county. West J Med. 1991;154:414–7.PubMed

17.

Wallace SP, Gutierrez VF, Castaneda Y. Access to preventive services for adults of Mexican origin. J Immigr Minor Health. 2008;10(4):363–72.PubMedCrossRef

18.

Carrasquillo O, Carrasquillo A, Shea S. Health insurance coverage of immigrants living in the United States: differences by citizenship status and country of origin. Am J Public Health. 2000;90:917–23.PubMedCrossRef

19.

Berk M, Schur C, Chavez L, Frankel M. Health care use among undocumented Latino immigrants. J Health Aff. 2000;19(4):44–57.

20.

Ku L, Matani S. Left out: immigrants’ access to health care and insurance. Health Aff. 2001;20(1):247–56.CrossRef

21.

Valenzuela A, Kawachi JA, Marr MD. Seeking work daily: supply, demand and spatial dimensions of day labor in two global cities. Int J Comp Sociol. 2002;43(2):192–219.CrossRef

22.

Organista KC, Ehrlich SF. Predictors of condom use in Latino migrant day laborers. Hisp J Behav Sci. 2008;30(3):379–96.CrossRef

23.

Lopez RA. Use of alternative folk medicine by Mexican American women. J Immigr Health. 2005;7(1):23–31.PubMedCrossRef

24.

Trotter RT. Curanderismo: a picture of Mexican-American folk healing. J Altern Complementary Med. 2001;7(2):129–31.CrossRef

25.

Applewhite S. Curanderismo: demystifying the health beliefs and practices of elderly Mexican Americans. Health Social Work. 1995;20(4):247.PubMed

26.

Courtenay WH. Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men’s well-being: a theory of gender and health. Social Sci Med. 2000;50(10):1385–401.CrossRef

27.

Tudiver F, Talbot Y. Why don’t men seek help? Family physicians’ perspectives on help-seeking behavior in men. J Fam Pract. 1999;48:47–52.PubMed

28.

Krajewski-Jaime E. Folk-healing among Mexican-American families as a consideration in the delivery of child welfare and child health care services. Child Welf. 1991;70:157–67.

29.

Norcross WA, Ramirez C, Palinkas LA. The influence of women on the health care seeking behavior of men. J Fam Pract. 1996;43:475–80.PubMed

30.

Hondagneu-Sotelo P, Avila E. I’m here but I’m there: the meanings of Latina transnational motherhood. In: Hondagneu-Sotelo P, editor. Gender and U.S. immigration: contemporary trends. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1999. p. 317–340.

31.

Sellers Campbell W. Lessons in resilience: undocumented Mexican women in South Carolina. Affilia J Women Social Work. 2008;23(3):231–41.CrossRef

32.

Nicholas D. Men, masculinity, and cancer: risk factor behaviors, early detection, and psychosocial adaptation. J Am Coll Health. 2000;49(1):27–33.PubMedCrossRef

33.

Zoucha R, Purnell LD. People of Mexican heritage. In: Purnell LD, Paulanka BJ, editors. Transcultural health care: a culturally competent approach. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis; 2003. p. 264–278.

34.

Villaruel AM. Mexican American cultural meaning, expressions, self-care and dependent care actions associated with experiences of pain. Res Nurs Health. 1995;18:427–36.CrossRef

35.

Munoz C, Luckmann J. Transcultural communication in nursing. 2nd ed. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson; 2005.

36.

Sobralske MC. Health care seeking among Mexican American men. J Transcult Nurs. 2006;17(2):129–38.PubMedCrossRef

Title: The Jornalero: Perceptions of Health Care Resources of Immigrant Day Laborers
Authors: Oscar A. Leclere
Rebecca A. López
Publication date: 01-08-2012
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Issue 4/2012
Print ISSN: 1557-1912
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1920
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9516-z

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

The Jornalero: Perceptions of Health Care Resources of Immigrant Day Laborers

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 4/2012

Acculturation, Dietary Practices and Risk for Childhood Obesity in an Ethnically Heterogeneous Population of Latino School Children in the San Francisco Bay Area

Where Would You Rather Live If You Were Insured? Assessing Community Uninsurance Spillover Effects on the Insured

Food Insecurity and Low Self-efficacy are Associated with Health Care Access Barriers Among Puerto-Ricans with Type 2 Diabetes

Factors Influencing Healthcare Utilization Within a Free Community Clinic

Predictors of Medication Adherence in an Urban Latino Community with Healthcare Disparities

Reasons for Self-Medication and Perceptions of Risk Among Mexican Migrant Farm Workers