Cabdrivers Health Study
Chicago is home to fifth largest population of African immigrants in the United States; close to 4% of all immigrants in Chicago are African. Most African immigrants are of working age, more than half have bachelor’s degrees or higher and more than 90% speak English well or very well. Despite these advantages, many African struggle to find well-paying jobs and at least 18% of the population lives in poverty. Of the 21% of all Africans who work in service occupations, taxicab drivers are estimated to make up a significant proportion. 60% of taxicab drivers in Chicago are foreign born and 6% of taxicab drivers around the country are African.
Being a taxicab driver exposes individuals to a variety of occupational hazards, including stress, long, sedentary work hours and violence, that are likely create health problems. Yet we know very little of the health related needs of taxicab drivers in general and African taxicab driver in particular. With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), it is important to identify the needs of this population. Therefore, the United African Organization conducted a health survey among Chicago’s African taxicab drivers to assess their health needs, including insurance coverage and health services use, with the hopes of working with partners to address issues that may be revealed. The African Cabdrivers Health Survey was administered to 527 African taxicab drivers between October 2012 and January 2013.
Click here to complete the survey
on Twitter
Facebook