The Interactive Effect of Health Status on Work Patterns among Urban Puerto Rican Women

Abstract

This paper aims to integrate two existing bodies of literature on the sociology of work and health. Using data from a study conducted in New York City in 1980 of 40 Puerto Rican women, a conceptual model is proposed for additional research in the area. The findings are discussed within the context of the larger structural and socioeconomic status of this particular racial/ethnic group. The findings clearly indicate that health status is related to work patterns and economic as well as social resources. Of the respondents who reported a major health event in their lives, 80 percent had a discontinuous work history. Children's health was also a major determinant of work status. The results of this study clearly reveal the need for research that will take into account the interplay between economic conditions, structural work factors, and the process by which women evaluate their roles and fulfill their function as economic and health caretakers of the family.