Real world examples of unequal status

[nataliya86]

Hi all,

Please help me to find an article with a real world example (in the news, personal observation, personal experience, documentary) in which unequal conditions resulted in health consequences. For example, one of the stories was about the deaths of three young men who worked in the grain industry, who drowned in a vat of grain due to an equipment malfunction. Apparently this was not an isolated occurrence and even though the unsafe conditions for laborers working around grain elevators are well documented, OSHA has not held the industry accountable. The owners of companies that perpetrate these unsafe operations are never prosecuted.

Thanks!

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

I don't understand what the phrase "unequal conditions resulted in health consequences" means. Unequal as in not equal to OSHA standards? Unequal as in comparing working conditions in developing countries to Europe or North America?

Or do you mean an unsafe work environment resulting in injuries to employees? American history is full to the brim of such stories. Google "Triangle Shirtwaist Fire" or "Black Lung and Coal Minning". Pretty much anybody performing any job in the USA at the turn of the twentieth century was working under absurdly unsafe conditions. The labor movement brought about OSHA, PPE, Fire exits, MSDS and all that good stuff.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

You can search Healthy People 2020, and find statistical information about health disparities, and go from there to find out how mortality rates by ethnic group and low socio-economic areas by region and how it affects access to healthcare, if that's what you mean in your original post.

[smf0903]

I agree that Healthy People 2020 is a great resource for information. I believe they have an entire area devoted to socioeconomic status and illness (I am thinking that's what you're getting at?)

Mold is an issue that pops into my brain...the resulting respiratory and neurological issues that come along with mold exposure. It is extremely expensive to get rid of and while anyone can have mold in their home I would lay dollars to donuts that the people who suffer most physical effects of mold are of a lower socioeconomic class. Just a thought :) And grain bins always have been a hazard, whether they were fully-functional or malfunctioned in some way. It is, sadly, the nature of the beast. As a side note to that, interestingly about two years ago in a neighboring town a grain bin broke...as in literally the walls gave way on the bin. I forget how many bushels of corn were in it, but the force was so strong that the wave of corn knocked 3 or 4 homes off of their foundations (they were later demolished as they were complete losses and deemed uninhabitable). Anyway, nothing really to do with your question but an interesting side note to your grain bin topic

Good luck!!