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Sznajder KK, Harlow SD, Wang J, et al. Factors associated with symptoms of poor mental health among women factory workers in China's supply chain. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2022;doi: 10.1007/s00420-021-01820-w.
Sznajder, K. K., Harlow, S. D., Wang, J., Tso, L., Ashagre, Y., & Han, C. (2022). Factors associated with symptoms of poor mental health among women factory workers in China's supply chain. International archives of occupational and environmental health, . https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-021-01820-w
Sznajder, K K, et al. "Factors associated with symptoms of poor mental health among women factory workers in China's supply chain." International archives of occupational and environmental health vol. (2022). doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-021-01820-w
Sznajder KK, Harlow SD, Wang J, Tso L, Ashagre Y, Han C. Factors associated with symptoms of poor mental health among women factory workers in China's supply chain. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2022 Jan 10; doi: 10.1007/s00420-021-01820-w. Epub 2022 Jan 10. PMID: 35001196; PMCID: PMC8743097.
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Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2022 Jan 10; doi: 10.1007/s00420-021-01820-w. Epub 2022 Jan 10.

Factors associated with symptoms of poor mental health among women factory workers in China's supply chain.

International archives of occupational and environmental health

K K Sznajder, S D Harlow, J Wang, L Tso, Y Ashagre, C Han

Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State University College of Medicine, 90 Hope Drive, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA. [email protected].
  2. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
  3. Department of Social Medicine, College of Health Management, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
  4. Anthropology, Global Health and Medical Humanities Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
  5. Center for Health and Human Development Studies, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
  6. Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State University College of Medicine, 90 Hope Drive, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA.
  7. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Tianjin Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tianjin, China.

PMID: 35001196 PMCID: PMC8743097 DOI: 10.1007/s00420-021-01820-w

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Foreign direct investment (FDI) to China has motivated increased labor migration to export processing zones (EPZs). Work environments with high occupational stress, such as production line jobs typical in EPZs, have been associated with adverse mental health symptoms.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey that examined occupational stress and symptoms of poor mental health was implemented among Chinese women factory workers in three electronic factories in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area. Symptoms of mental health measured in the survey were hopelessness, depression, not feeling useful or needed, and trouble concentrating. Crude and adjusted prevalence odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated with logistic regression.

RESULTS: Responses were collected from 696 women factory workers. Participants were aged 18-56 years (mean 28 ± 5.8), 66% of whom were married and 25% of whom were migrants. Nearly 50% of participants reported at least one symptom of poor mental health. After adjusting for covariates associated with each outcome in the bivariate analysis, high job strain was associated with hopelessness (OR 2.68, 95% CI 1.58, 4.56), not feeling useful (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.22, 3.43), and feeling depressed (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.16, 2.72).

CONCLUSION: This study expands on the international body of research on the well-being of women working in the global supply chain and provides evidence on the associations between occupational stressors, migration, and social support on symptoms of poor mental health among women workers. Future research to better understand and improve psychological health and to prevent suicide among workers in China's factories is critical to improve the health of China's labor force.

© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Keywords: China; Mental health; Occupational health; Transients and migrants; Women

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