Work and Health among Early Childhood Education Workers in Washington State

摘要 据估计，美国有220万名工人受雇于幼儿教育 高度脆弱的劳动人口。欧洲经委会的工作人员可能会接触到无数的健康 工作中的风险包括传染病、肌肉骨骼劳损和高度压力。在……里面 此外，欧洲经委会工作人员是工资最低的职业之一，几乎没有与工作有关的福利， 而且是不成比例的年轻女性。旨在改善早期教育，与教育相关 菲尔德最近在工作需求方面将大量注意力集中在这一劳动力上，Low 报酬和声望。然而，关于健康的全面研究明显缺乏。 欧洲经委会工作人员的状况、恶劣工作条件的普遍程度和特点 对峙，以及两者之间的联系。重要的是，欧洲经委会的健康和安全 环境可能有助于提高劳动力为幼儿提供服务的效率 最大的利益。利用州政府内部当地合作伙伴的专业知识和资源， 以社区为基础的组织和早期教育研究，我们处于独特的地位 对员工的工作条件和健康状况进行最全面的评估 到目前为止，欧洲经委会的员工队伍。使用西澳全州范围的调查，辅之以现场观察 数据，我们将描述欧洲经委会中心工作人员的工作条件和健康状况。我们 将进一步对工作暴露之间的关系进行探索性分析， 人口特征、背景(例如，城市/郊区/农村差异)、社会-- 人口统计特征和健康结果。整合来自广泛领域的研究结果- 基于个别中心的调查和深入描述将提供 对行业的代表性和细粒度评估。

Abstract The estimated 2.2 million U.S. workers employed in early childhood education (ECE) represent a highly vulnerable working population. ECE workers are potentially exposed to myriad health risks on the job including infectious disease, musculoskeletal strain, and high levels of stress. In addition, ECE workers are among the lowest paid occupations, have few job-related benefits, and are disproportionately young women. Aiming to improve early education, education-related fields have recently focused significant attention to this workforce in terms of job demands, low pay, and prestige. However, there is a glaring paucity of comprehensive research on the health status of the ECE workforce, the prevalence and characteristics of poor working conditions they confront, and associations between the two. Importantly, the health and safety of ECE environments might contribute to the effectiveness of the workforce in serving young children's best interests. Leveraging expertise and resources from local partners within state government, community-based organizations, and early education research, we are uniquely positioned to conduct the most comprehensive assessment of the working conditions and health status of the ECE workforce to date. Using a WA State-wide survey, supplemented by on-site observational data, we will describe the working conditions and health status among ECE center workers. We will further conduct exploratory analyses of the relationships between work exposures, demographic characteristics, context (e.g., urban/suburban/rural differences), socio- demographic characteristics, and health outcomes. Integration of the findings from the broad- based survey and in-depth characterization of individual centers will provide both a representative and granular assessment of the industry.