A conceptual model of work and health disparities in the United States.

Recent research in medicine and public health highlights differences in health related to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender. These inequalities, often labeled "disparities," are pervasive and pertain to the major causes of morbidity, mortality, and lost life years. Often ignored in discussions of health disparities is the complex role of work, including not only occupational exposures and working conditions, but also benefits associated with work, effects of work on families and communities, and policies that determine where and how people work.