Reducing risk for chronic disease: evaluation of a collective community approach to sustainable evidence-based health programming.

Background: Community initiatives can shape health behaviors, such as physical activity and dietary habits, across a population and help reduce the risk of developing chronic disease. To achieve this goal and impact health outcomes, Pasadena Vibrant Community aimed to engage communities in an ongoing dialogue about the importance of healthy behaviors, implement and advance community-based strategies to promote health, and improve diet and physical activity behaviors. The initiative was centered around a collaboration between a backbone organization, steering committee, and 7 collaborating organizations funded to implement multicomponent, evidence-based programs.

Expanding the Focus of Occupational Safety and Health: Lessons from a Series of Linked Scientific Meetings.

There is widespread recognition that the world of work is changing, and agreement is growing that the occupational safety and health (OSH) field must change to contribute to the protection of workers now and in the future. Discourse on the evolution of OSH has been active for many decades, but formalized support of an expanded focus for OSH has greatly increased over the past 20 years. Development of approaches such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)'s Total Worker Health concept and the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Healthy Workplace Framework are concrete examples of how OSH can incorporate a new focus with a wider view.

Fitness-for-Duty Assessments of Industrial Firefighters: Guidance for Occupational Medicine Physicians.

: Industrial firefighters share many characteristics with municipal firefighters; however, employers frequently have not addressed or characterized the unique job duties, hazards, and specific physical/mental demands associated with industrial firefighting. In addition, gaps exist in the medical literature with regard to industrial firefighter demographics, behavioral risk factors, and chronic diseases. Finally, the proper methodologies for fitness-for-duty assessment of employees acting in this capacity are lacking.

Simulating the impact of changing trends in smoking and obesity on productivity of an industrial population: an observational study.

Objective: To estimate the impact of trends in smoking and obesity prevalence on productivity loss among petrochemical employees from 1980 to 2009.

Methods: Smoking and obesity informations were collected during company physical examinations. Productivity loss was calculated as differential workdays lost between smokers and non-smokers, and obese and normal-weight employees.

Risk factors for illness absence due to musculoskeletal disorders in a 4-year prospective study of a petroleum-manufacturing population.

Objectives: To quantify risk factors for nonoccupational absence from musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) among petroleum-manufacturing employees.

Methods: We conducted a 4-year follow-up study including 860 employees with an MSD illness absence of 4 days or longer and 5691 employees with no MSD absence. Odds ratios were calculated using logistic regression.

The Shell Disability Management Program: a five-year evaluation of the impact on absenteeism and return-on-investment.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the Shell Disability Management Program (DMP) on U.S. manufacturing employee absenteeism.

Combined impact of health risk factors on mortality of a petroleum industry population.

Objective: To assess the combined impact of health risk factors on mortality.

Methods: A 21-year mortality follow-up of 12,896 Shell Oil Company employees was conducted. Relative risks of mortality, expressed as hazard ratios, in relation to the six risk factors, including cigarette smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, total cholesterol, serum glucose, and triglycerides, were calculated using a Cox proportional hazards model.

Refinery firefighters: assessing fitness for duty.

Firefighting is a hazardous and physically demanding activity. The demanding nature of the tasks involved in firefighting requires a high level of fitness both for the safety of the firefighting personnel as well as for the adequate performance of their tasks. Here, the characteristics (body weight, lung function, etc.

Reliability and validity of an occupational health history questionnaire.

This study determined the reliability and validity of a self-administered occupational health history questionnaire. Reliability was evaluated using a test-retest study design based on 123 volunteers (56% participation rate) who were administered the questionnaire approximately 1 month apart. Validity and general acceptability was evaluated in a clinical setting through in-depth clinician interviews of 25 patients.