immigrant workforce

iwin research on immigrant workers and their families is an emerging area examining job and employment conditions' effect on workers and their families.

latino horse worker health project

The Latino population in the United States represents the largest minority population and is responsible for the highest percentage in US population growth in the past decade.  Hispanics are estimated to comprise 14% of the US labor force yet disproportionately experience higher rates of occupational illness and injury than non-Hispanics.

Although research on the health of Latino farmworkers has been conducted within several sectors of agriculture, limited attention has been paid to workers in the horse production sector despite its size, economic importance and reliance on a Latino workforce.  The horse farm industry and its workers stand to benefit from research that can improve the health of its workers.  Therefore, the main objective of this 5-year, CDC-funded, research project is to improve the occupational health of Latino horse breeding workers. Specifically it will

1) delineate how work is organized on horse breeding farms in Kentucky;
2) determine the types of illness, injuries and near miss incidents experienced by Latino workers in horse breeding;
3)  analyze the relationships of work organization variables to occupational health outcomes experienced by this population
4) create tools for both Latino horse workers and their managers to help improve the health and safety of this population.

If you have questions about the project, please contact Jennifer Swanberg at jswanberg@uky.edu or at 859.323.0585.

proyecto de salud de los trabajadores del campo: latino farmworker health project

Research suggests that negative occupational health outcomes are associated with psychological stressors in the work environment. Despite the high number of Latinos in farm work, few studies have examined how psychosocial aspects of work impact Latino farmworker health. Those studies that have looked at large-scale agricultural or animal processing facilities, which are different than small-scale farm or horse production operations common in Kentucky.

The purpose of this pilot project is to explore how certain aspects of the work environment impact occupational health outcomes for Latino farmworkers in Central Kentucky. Specifically, this study will:

1) explore the physical and psychological aspects of the work environment for Latino workers in small-scale crop and horse production worksites in Central KY including such aspects as social support, supervisory practices, job design, and job demands and stressors.
2)determine which of the above factors contribute to occupational injury and illness among Latino farmworkers.

If you have questions about the project, please contact Jess Miller Clouser at jess.clouser@uky.edu or at 859.323.0587.

immigrant workers: work-life circumstances & contributory factors associated with poverty

Prinicpal Investigator: Mamta U. Ojha, MSW
Co-Principal Investigator: Jennifer Swanberg, Ph.D


Over the last three decades the number of immigrants living in United States has grown exponentially. Immigrant workers comprise a significant percentage of the U.S. labor force. Using data from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce, we examine the quality of life on and off the job for working immigrants. Specifically, this project will:

1) provide a descriptive analysis of the job conditions, family characteristics and care giving responsibilities of immigrants in the U.S. labor force,
2) identify whether the job conditions, family characteristics and care giving responsibilities are different for employed immigrants who live in households above or below 250% of the poverty guideline; and
3) determine the job, family, and care giving factors associated with poverty status.

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This project is supported by funding from the University of Kentucky College of Social Work.