New Insights Into Daily Health Challenges Faced By Beauty Service Workers

The Small Business Beauty Services Industry in the United States - ; For example, small independent nail salons across the country - ; A big one with annual sales of over $62 billion.

However, most of these in-demand service workers are very low-wage Asian immigrants. These workers face many health problems related to the chemicals they use, repetitive movements of hand tools, and awkward positions.

They are also reluctant to address these conditions due to factors such as potential immigration trauma, lack of English, fear of losing their jobs, and unfamiliarity with American culture and business practices.

Texas A&M University School of Public Health Dr. A new commentary led by Aurora Lu provides a multifaceted view of the complex challenges facing cosmetology professionals, as well as recommendations for interventions and policy measures to respond to them.

In this evaluation, funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Lu and colleagues at the University of Minnesota used a research framework that shows the interaction of behavior, the physical/built environment, the sociocultural environment, and the health system as factors. at the individual, interpersonal, community and societal levels. They affect the health of individuals and the population.

This framework not only helps us understand how these multilevel issues interact, but also helps us develop and prioritize strategies to address health issues, disparities across organizations, communities, and population policies.

Dr. Aurora Lu is an associate professor at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health

For example, where the behavioral domain intersects with the personal effects of Asian and Asian American beauty service workers, researchers have identified a lack of workplace health services and education, work-related benefits, work ability, low wages, and other health-related benefits. job promotion.

"This means that individual-level awareness and education about workplace safety and health will require cultural competence and communication that includes material not only in their language, but also at their literacy level," he said. "The same is true at the interpersonal level, which includes social interactions at home and work, as well as in wider social networks."

At the community level, the resources available to these workers vary significantly by geographic location, with cities with larger numbers of immigrants from a given country having greater language resources.

"However, most of these resources are for services such as registration and access to health care, how to get legal help, etc.," Lu said. "Safety equipment in the workplace is very limited, especially for smaller organizations."

On a broader societal level, including state licensing and health regulations, many small beauty business owners may not fully understand the regulations and therefore may not follow them.

"The reality is that most of these companies have fewer than 10 employees and therefore are subject to less regulation, but they also operate with very low profit margins and are struggling to survive," Lu said. "Furthermore, migrant workers with job security are less likely to report unsafe practices."

How can these findings inform future occupational health and safety policies and practices?

"On the one hand, there is very little that can be done on an individual level for these beauty care professionals," Lu said. Instead, change will require the collaboration of stakeholders invested in public health and experts in areas such as business development who understand the context in which these workers work. This means that training should at least be carried out in the language of the employees' choice, and that employers should understand the importance of health and safety in the workplace.

At the community level, Lu said Asian and Asian American community organizations have been on the front lines for these workers during the years of COVID-19 and are now offering more resources on workplace health and safety issues. One example is the Vietnamese-American nonprofit Boat People SOS, which has added a chemical exposure program for nail salon workers to its training.

On a broader societal/policy level, the federal government has provided funding to some community organizations to support Asian and Asian American small businesses in the beauty industry. That has prompted some states to introduce safer practices and protect labor standards in nail salons, including better wages, training and paid time off, Lu said.

Ultimately, at the level of occupational health professionals and researchers, Lu said, the best approach is community-based research, where all parties are equally involved in decision-making and build on existing assets to give participants more control over their lives. Getting more Asians and Asian Americans involved in occupational safety and health as researchers at universities and government agencies, and fostering collaboration between academics and other subject matter experts and policymakers, would also help, Lu said.

"These workers and employers have come to this country and built a new life for themselves," Lau said. "And now a new, multi-layered approach to workplace safety and health can help them succeed."

source.

View link:

Le, AB & Huỳnh, TB (2023) The need for a multi-level approach to occupational safety and health among Asian and Asian American beauty service workers . Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2023.2245447.

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