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Background: Workers who experience language barriers are at increased risk of work‐related injuries and illnesses and face difficulties reporting these health problems to their employer and workers' compensation. In the existing occupational health and safety literature, however, such challenges are often framed in individual‐level terms. We identify systemic barriers to reporting among injured workers who experience language barriers within the varying contexts of Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Methods: This study merges data from two qualitative studies that investigated experiences with workers' compensation and return‐to‐work, respectively, for injured workers who experience language barriers. We conducted semi‐structured interviews with 39 workers and 70 stakeholders in Ontario and Quebec. Audio recordings were transcribed and coded using NVivo software. The data was analysed thematically and iteratively. Results: Almost all workers (34/39) had filed a claim, though most had initially delayed reporting their injuries or illnesses to their employer or to workers' compensation. Workers faced several obstacles to reporting, including confusion surrounding the cause and severity of injuries and illnesses; lack of information, misinformation, and disinformation about workers' compensation; difficulties accessing and interacting with care providers; fear and insecurity linked to precarity; claim suppression by employers; negative perceptions of, and experiences with, workers' compensation; and lack of supports. Language barriers amplified each of these difficulties, resulting in significant negative impacts in economic, health, and claim areas. Conclusion: Improving the linguistic and cultural competence of organizations and their representatives is insufficient to address under‐reporting among workers who experience language barriers. Efforts to improve timely reporting must tackle the policies and practices that motivate and enable under‐reporting for workers, physicians, and employers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workers who experience language barriers are more likely to get injured or sick because of their work and have poorer claim and return-to-work outcomes compared to other workers. To better understand the systemic factors that shape access to compensation in contexts of language barriers, we compared language accommodation policies and practices in the Quebec and Ontario workers' compensation systems. We uncovered gaps limiting access to professional interpreters in both provinces, although gaps were more pronounced in Quebec where workers were responsible for the cost of interpreters. We argue that simply improving the linguistic competence of workers' compensation systems is not sufficient to tackle access barriers and must be accompanied by efforts to address the root causes of social and economic inequities for workers who experience language barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the employment integration experiences of Syrian refugee women arriving to Canada through four common refugee streams: government-assisted, private sponsorship, Blended Visa office referral, and as refugee claimants. Drawing on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Syrian refugee women and key informants, we show how differences between streams – eligibility requirements, supports provided, services rendered – facilitate or act as barriers to seeking out and securing employment. The finding suggests that government-assisted refugee women struggled the most when compared with the other refugee women. Particularly, GAR women arrived with part of their families and minimal supports, affecting their mental well-being and job search. Meanwhile, the other refugee women typically arrived with the qualities (language, work experience) needed to integrate and so, were able to choose when, how, and the type of work they secured. Through this study, we propose policy recommendations that should be incorporated within the Canadian refugee system to mediate challenges and promote a positive resettlement experience for all refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals who experience language barriers are largely excluded as participants from health research, resulting in gaps in knowledge that have implications for the development of equitable policies, tools, and strategies. Drawing on the existing literature and on their collective experience conducting occupational health research in contexts of language barriers, the authors propose a tool to assist qualitative researchers and representatives from funding agencies and ethics review boards with the meaningful consideration of language barriers in research. There remain gaps and debates with respect to the relevant ethical and methodological guidance set forth by funding agencies and institutions and proposed in the scientific literature. This article adds to knowledge in this area by contributing our experiences, observations, and recommendations, including around the issue of conducting research in contexts of more or less linguistic diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: A minority of workers with work-related injuries experience challenges returning to work. While factors that hinder return-to-work (RTW) are well-documented, the consequences of failing to successfully return to work on the lives of workers who have experienced a workplace injury remain poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of workers who do not successfully return to work following a work-related injury. METHODS: Using an interpretive approach to qualitative research and maximal variability sampling, 11 workers who have sustained work-related injuries without a successful RTW and four service providers were recruited through community organizations. Participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. A constant comparative approach was used to identify key themes across the worker and service provider experiences. RESULTS: The findings that emerged from the analysis capture the challenging RTW experiences of workers and describe wide ranging impacts on their lives when their workers' compensation claims are denied or discontinued, including ongoing financial strain, family tensions, subsequent health concerns, and negative employment experiences. The findings also highlight the negative consequences of existing cost-cutting frameworks that can restrict entitlement and benefits for many people with disabilities. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study highlight the experiences of workers who might need additional supports throughout the RTW process, and begin to shed light on the impact on their lives when RTW is not successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. We sought to document pathways between under/unemployment and health among racialized immigrant women in Toronto while exploring the ways in which gender, class, migration and racialization, as interlocking systems of social relations, structure these relationships. Design. We conducted 30 interviews with racialized immigrant women who were struggling to get stable employment that matched their education and/or experience. Participants were recruited through flyers, partner agencies and peer researcher networks. Most interviews (21) were conducted in a language other than English. Interviews were transcribed, translated as appropriate and analyzed using NVivo software. The project followed a community-based participatory action research model. Results. Under/unemployment negatively impacted the physical and mental health of participants and their families. It did so directly, for example through social isolation, as well as indirectly through representation in poor quality jobs. Under/unemployment additionally led to the intensification of job search strategies and of the household/caregiving workload which also negatively impacted health. Health problems, in turn, contributed to pushing participants into long-term substandard employment trajectories. Participants’ experiences were heavily structured by their social location as low income racialized immigrant women. Conclusions. Our study provides needed qualitative evidence on the gendered and racialized dimensions of under/unemployment, and adverse health impacts resulting from this. Drawing on intersectional analysis, we unpack the role that social location plays in creating highly uneven patterns of under/unemployment and negative health pathways for racialized immigrant women. We discuss equity informed strategies to help racialized immigrant women overcome barriers to stable work that match their education and/or experience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]