Browsing by Subject "health inequalities"

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    A qualitative study about immigrant workers´ perceptions of their working conditions in Spain
    (2009-05) Ahonen, Emily Q.; Porthé, Victoria; Vázquez, María Luisa; García, Ana María; López-Jacob, María José; Ruiz-Frutos, Carlos; Pérez, Elena Ronda; Benach, Joan; Benavides, Fernando G.
    Background: Spain has recently become an inward migration country. Little is known about the occupational health of immigrant workers. This study aimed to explore the perceptions that immigrant workers in Spain had of their working conditions. Methods: Qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study. Criterion sampling. Data collected between September 2006 and May 2007 through semi-structured focus groups and individual interviews, with a topic guide. One hundred and fifty-eight immigrant workers (90 men/68 women) from Colombia (n = 21), Morocco (n = 39), sub-Saharan Africa (n = 29), Romania (n = 44) and Ecuador (n = 25), who were authorised (documented) or unauthorised (undocumented) residents in five medium to large cities in Spain. Results: Participants described poor working conditions, low pay and health hazards. Perception of hazards appeared to be related to gender and job sector. Informants were highly segregated into jobs by sex, however, so this issue will need further exploration. Undocumented workers described poorer conditions than documented workers, which they attributed to their documentation status. Documented participants also felt vulnerable because of their immigrant status. Informants believed that deficient language skills, non-transferability of their education and training and, most of all, their immigrant status and economic need left them with little choice but to work under poor conditions. Conclusions: The occupational health needs of immigrant workers must be addressed at the job level, while improving the enforcement of existing health and safety regulations. The roles that documentation status and economic need played in these informants’ work experiences should be considered and how these may influence health outcomes.
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    Socioeconomic Inequalities and Toothbrushing Frequency among Schoolchildren Aged 6 to 12 Years in a Multi-Site Study of Mexican Cities: A Cross-Sectional Study
    (MDPI, 2022-07-18) Acuña-González, Gladys Remigia; Casanova-Sarmiento, Juan Alejandro; Islas-Granillo, Horacio; Márquez-Rodríguez, Sonia; Benítez-Valladares, David; Mendoza-Rodríguez, Martha; de la Rosa-Santillana, Rubén; de Jesús Navarrete-Hernández, José; Medina-Solís, Carlo Eduardo; Maupomé, Gerardo
    Periodic toothbrushing is the most common, effective, and reliable way to mechanically remove biofilm from oral tissues. The objective of the present study was to determine the association between toothbrushing frequency and socioeconomic position for schoolchildren between 6 and 12 years of age in four cities in Mexico. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 Mexican schoolchildren between 6 and 12 years of age from public schools in four Mexican cities. Questionnaires were administered to the parents/guardians of the schoolchildren to obtain the variables included in the study. The dependent variable was toothbrushing frequency, dichotomized as: 0 = less than twice a day and 1 = at least twice a day. The analysis was performed in Stata. The average age of the schoolchildren was 8.9 1.9 years; 50.4% were female. The prevalence of toothbrushing was 52.8% (at least twice a day) (95% CI = 48.4􀀀57.1). In the multivariate model, the variables associated (p < 0.05) with toothbrushing frequency were older age of the schoolchild (OR = 1.14); younger age of the mother (OR = 0.93); being a girl (OR = 1.70); being enrolled in Seguro Popular (OR = 0.69); being in a household that was owned (OR = 2.43); and being a schoolchild who lived in a home that owned a car (OR = 1.31). The prevalence of toothbrushing at least twice a day was just over 50% in these Mexican children. We found demographic and socioeconomic variables to be associated with toothbrushing. Based on socioeconomic variables that were associated with toothbrushing frequency—such as health insurance, home ownership and the household owning a car—the results of the present study confirm the existence of health inequalities in toothbrushing frequency.