Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Connecting Gender, Race, Class, and Immigration Status to Disease Management at the Workplace.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic diseases are the leading causes of death in the United States. Chronic disease management occurs within all aspects of an individual's life, including the workplace. Though the social constructs of gender, race, class, and immigration status within the workplace have been considered, their connection to disease management among workers has been less explicitly explored. Using a sample of immigrant hotel housekeepers, we explored the connections between these four social constructs and hypertension management.

METHODS: This qualitative research study was guided by critical ethnography methodology. Twenty-seven hotel room cleaners and four housemen were recruited ( N = 31) and invited to discuss their experiences with hypertension and hypertension management within the context of their work environments.

RESULTS: Being a woman worker within the hotel industry was perceived to negatively influence participants' experience with hypertension and hypertension management. In contrast, being a woman played a protective role outside the workplace. Being an immigrant played both a positive and a negative role in hypertension and its management. Being black and from a low socioeconomic class had only adverse influences on participants' experience with hypertension and its management.

CONCLUSION: Being a woman, black, lower class, and an immigrant simultaneously contribute to immigrant hotel housekeepers' health and their ability to effectively manage their hypertension. The connection between these four constructs (gender, race, class, and immigration status) and disease management must be considered during care provision. Hotel employers and policy stakeholders need to consider those constructs and how they impact workers' well-being. More studies are needed to identify what mitigates the associations between the intersectionality of these constructs and immigrant workers' health and disease management within their work environment.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app