Ramifications of Precarious Employment for Health and Health Inequity: Emerging Trends from the Americas

Anjum Hajat; Sarah B. Andrea; Vanessa M. Oddo; Megan R. Winkler; Emily Q. Ahonen

doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071321-042437

journal article Open Access May 20, 2024

Ramifications of Precarious Employment for Health and Health Inequity: Emerging Trends from the Americas

Anjum Hajat Sarah B. Andrea Vanessa M. Oddo Megan R. Winkler Emily Q. Ahonen

Annual Review of Public Health Vol. 45 No. 1 pp. 235-251 · Annual Reviews

View at Publisher Save 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071321-042437

Abstract

Precarious employment (PE), which encompasses the power relations between workers and employers, is a well-established social determinant of health that has strong ramifications for health and health inequity. In this review, we discuss advances in the measurement of this multidimensional construct and provide recommendations for overcoming continued measurement challenges. We then evaluate recent evidence of the negative health impacts of PE, with a focus on the burgeoning studies from North America and South America. We also establish the role of PE in maintaining and perpetuating health inequities and review potential policy solutions to help alleviate its health burden. Last, we discuss future research directions with a call for a better understanding of the heterogeneity within PE and for research that focuses both on upstream drivers that shape PE and its impacts on health, as well as on the mechanisms by which PE causes poor health.

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Details

Published: May 20, 2024
Vol/Issue: 45(1)
Pages: 235-251
License: View

Authors

A

Anjum Hajat

1Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA; email: anjumh@uw.edu

S

Sarah B. Andrea

2School of Public Health, Oregon Health and Sciences University–Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, USA

V

Vanessa M. Oddo

3Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

M

Megan R. Winkler

4Department of Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

E

Emily Q. Ahonen

5Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Cite This Article

Anjum Hajat, Sarah B. Andrea, Vanessa M. Oddo, et al. (2024). Ramifications of Precarious Employment for Health and Health Inequity: Emerging Trends from the Americas. Annual Review of Public Health, 45(1), 235-251. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071321-042437

Ramifications of Precarious Employment for Health and Health Inequity: Emerging Trends from the Americas

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