Explaining the Invisibility of Asbestos-Related Diseases in the Taiwan Workers’ Compensation System

IF 1.8 Q3 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH New Solutions-A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy Pub Date : 2022-03-11 DOI:10.1177/10482911221084382

Yawen Cheng, Yi-Ling Huang, L. Lee

{"title":"Explaining the Invisibility of Asbestos-Related Diseases in the Taiwan Workers’ Compensation System","authors":"Yawen Cheng, Yi-Ling Huang, L. Lee","doi":"10.1177/10482911221084382","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Occupational asbestos exposure was prevalent in Taiwan, but asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) have rarely been recognized. We conducted in-depth face-to-face interviews with 16 patients with ARDs. All of them had worked in industries known for high asbestos exposure. However, only three patients had filed workers’ compensation (WC) claims, and of them, only two patients were approved. Reasons for the low compensation rate of ARDs could be divided into institutional barriers related to the flaws of the WC system and non-institutional barriers related to the knowledge status, causal interpretation, and social situations of individual workers. The Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act passed in April 2021 has responded to the under-compensation of occupational diseases. However, the new act's effects toward improving the recognition of ARDs remain questionable. Our findings indicated that additional efforts are needed to remove non-institutional barriers hindering workers’ ability to ensure their compensation rights.","PeriodicalId":45586,"journal":{"name":"New Solutions-A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy","volume":"32 1","pages":"106 - 118"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2022-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"New Solutions-A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10482911221084382","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Occupational asbestos exposure was prevalent in Taiwan, but asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) have rarely been recognized. We conducted in-depth face-to-face interviews with 16 patients with ARDs. All of them had worked in industries known for high asbestos exposure. However, only three patients had filed workers’ compensation (WC) claims, and of them, only two patients were approved. Reasons for the low compensation rate of ARDs could be divided into institutional barriers related to the flaws of the WC system and non-institutional barriers related to the knowledge status, causal interpretation, and social situations of individual workers. The Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act passed in April 2021 has responded to the under-compensation of occupational diseases. However, the new act's effects toward improving the recognition of ARDs remain questionable. Our findings indicated that additional efforts are needed to remove non-institutional barriers hindering workers’ ability to ensure their compensation rights.

查看原文

微信好友朋友圈 QQ好友复制链接

本刊更多论文

台湾劳工赔偿制度中石棉相关疾病的隐性解释

职业性石棉暴露在台湾很普遍，但石棉相关疾病(ARDs)却很少被发现。我们对16例ARDs患者进行了深入的面对面访谈。他们都曾在石棉暴露程度高的行业工作过。然而，只有三名患者提出了工伤赔偿(WC)索赔，其中只有两名患者获得批准。造成ARDs薪酬率低的原因可分为与WC制度缺陷相关的制度性障碍和与个体劳动者的知识状况、因果解释和社会状况相关的非制度性障碍。2021年4月通过的《劳动职业事故保险和保护法》解决了职业病赔偿不足的问题。然而，新法案对提高对ARDs的认识的影响仍然值得怀疑。我们的研究结果表明，需要进一步努力消除阻碍工人确保其补偿权利的非制度性障碍。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文去求助

来源期刊

New Solutions-A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

3.50

自引率

4.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： New Solutions delivers authoritative responses to perplexing problems, with a worker’s voice, an activist’s commitment, a scientist’s approach, and a policy-maker’s experience. New Solutions explores the growing, changing common ground at the intersection of health, work, and the environment. The Journal makes plain how the issues in each area are interrelated and sets forth progressive, thoughtfully crafted public policy choices. It seeks a conversation on the issues between the grassroots labor and environmental activists and the professionals and researchers involved in charting society’s way forward with the understanding that lack of scientific knowledge is no excuse for doing nothing and that inaction is itself a choice.