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BACKGROUND: Florida has a high proportion of minority workers. A prior report by the Occupational Health Program showed that minorities in Florida had a higher rate of work-related fatalities than white non-Hispanics for the years 2000–2007. This raised questions about how the work-related injury and illness patterns differ between Florida minorities and whites.
METHODS: A descriptive data analysis on work-related injury, illness patterns and mortality in Florida, 2010 was performed. Minorities were defined as non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics (of any race). Data sources included: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (CFOI) and BLS Current Population Survey.
RESULTS: The three industries with the highest overall rates of non–fatal injuries and illnesses and fatalities were transportation/warehousing, agriculture/forestry/fishing/hunting and construction. Minorities had the highest rates of injury and illness in two of these industries. Hispanics had the highest rate in agriculture/forestry/fishing/hunting (2,594 vs. 1,134 white non-Hispanics per 100,000 ftes). In construction, blacks had the highest rate (996 vs. 736 white non-Hispanics per 100,000 ftes). For fatalities, whites had the highest rates in those three industries in 2010, which differs from data examined for previous years. Data on specific types of injuries within an industry by race were not available, however based on SOII data, blacks had the highest rates of sprains/strains/tears and non-back pain. In the ED data, blacks had the highest rates of sprains/strains, certain back problems, and non-traumatic joint disorders. The musculoskeletal injuries may be related to the high proportion of blacks employed in the health care industry in the state. If this is the case, an increase in these types of injuries may be seen in coming years as that industry’s workforce continues to grow.
CONCLUSIONS: The most common types of injuries and high-risk industries differ based on race/ethnicity. It is therefore important to consider the minority workforce when developing education/intervention efforts to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. The impact of employment patterns of racial and ethnic groups on rates of injury and mortality warrants further studies to identify preventable injuries associated with industries undergoing employment growth.