Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor in UTEP’s Department of Public Health Sciences, and Aurora Máynez-Guaderrama, a professor and researcher at the Instituto de Ingeniería y Tecnología in Ciudad Juárez, were awarded a $30,000 grant by PIMSA to identify cultural barriers that influence the perception of occupational risks and work-related injuries among Mexican migrant construction workers in the Paso del Norte region.
PIMSA is the Programa de Investigación en Migración y Salud, a program from the Health Initiative of the Americas at the University of California, Berkeley, that funds binational research teams whose research proposals focus on migration and health.
According to Ibarra-Mejia, migrant workers of Hispanic origin in the United States have a higher rate of work-related injuries and mortality compared to other population groups.
As part of the study, researchers will examine the cultural barriers that influence workers’ safety in association with their health and safety behaviors. The results generated from the study will be used to design culturally appropriate prevention programs that will reduce occupational risk behaviors and injuries among Hispanic construction workers.