In a Medscape article, UW CHWS Director Bianca Frogner reflects on a recent article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) estimating the size of the immigrant workforce, including the number of undocumented workers, in healthcare.
She told Medscape Medical News that the study findings should be interpreted cautiously. “The Current Population Survey (CPS) does not collect information on whether immigrants are documented or not, so these are estimates that the authors produced based on many assumptions,” said Frogner.
Frogner added she’s surprised at the high estimates of undocumented immigrants in roles like nursing assistants and janitors, suggesting that employers typically verify documentation for such positions. However, it’s not surprising that many home health workers are undocumented. “It has been very difficult to retain workers in the home health space given how poorly paid these jobs are along with being hard work and requiring good interpersonal skills. Deportations may make it harder to fill these roles.” Read more here.