Drillers and bulldozer operators have experienced exceptionally high exposures to respirable crystalline silica in US surface coal mines.

Introduction: Previous studies suggest respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is an important driver of resurgent pneumoconiosis among US coal miners. Although greater attention has been focused on dust exposures in underground coal miners, surface miners are also at risk of severe disease. This study explores RCS exposure in this population.

The Association Between Employment in Coal Mining and History of Injury, Current Pain, and Prescription Opioid Use.

Background: Coal mining involves heavy physical demand, which is associated with increased risk of injury and long-term musculoskeletal health disorders and chronic pain. Management of chronic or recurrent pain is in turn associated with prescription opioid use and risk of opioid use disorder (OUD).

Methods: We analyzed clinical data from 5463 coal miners evaluated between 2004 and 2015.

Association Between Employment Factors and Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease in US Law Enforcement Workers: The National Health Interview Survey, 2006-2018.

Background: Law enforcement workers face a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), however, employment factors impacting CVD remain systematically understudied, particularly in a national US sample. We describe temporal trends in prevalent CVD including coronary heart disease (CHD), angina, myocardial infarction (MI) and other heart disease; and investigate associations of select employment factors with CVD among law enforcement workers using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 2006 to 2018.

Methods: We analyzed prevalent CVD in law enforcement workers employed in local, state, and federal establishments using the NHIS, a nationally representative sample of US workers.

Work-related injuries and illnesses (WRII) presenting to Illinois hospitals, 2017-2021: The importance of emergency department (ED) data.

Objectives: Research characterizing work-related injuries and illnesses (WRII) has predominantly focused on inpatients and deaths, despite evidence that 4% of WRII are admitted as inpatients and deaths are less than 0.2% of acute WRII. Our aim is to determine the usefulness of incorporating emergency department (ED) hospital data into current occupational health surveillance systems.

Work-related crashes in rideshare drivers in the United States.

Introduction: Motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the United States. The increasing popularity of the competitive rideshare market and the lack of oversight over workforce health and safety limits understanding of the current occupational hazards and associated risk factors faced by this precarious workforce. The objective of this analysis was to determine what the personal, social and occupational risk factors for work-related crashes in rideshare drivers are in the United States and suggest further research required to understand occupational health risks and opportunities for interventions.

Relationship between Civilian Injuries Caused during Contact with Law Enforcement and Community-Level Sociodemographic Characteristics.

Civilian injuries caused during contact with law enforcement personnel erode community trust in policing, impact individual well-being, and exacerbate existing health inequities. We assessed the relationship between ZIP code-level rates of civilian injuries caused during legal interventions and community-level sociodemographic characteristics using Illinois hospital data from 2016 to 2022. We developed multivariable Poisson regression models to examine whether legal intervention injury rates differed by race-ethnicity and community economic disadvantage across three geographic regions of Illinois representing different levels of urbanization.

Risk factors associated with indicators of dehydration among migrant farmworkers.

Objective: Farmworkers are at increased risk of adverse health outcomes related to occupational heat exposure and inadequate access to water, shade, or rest breaks. Presently, there is a dearth of studies examining the prevalence of dehydration and related factors in U.S.

Injuries Among Hispanic/Latinx Agricultural Workers Seen in Illinois Hospitals.

Objective: Agriculture is a dangerous industry, with evidence indicating a disproportionate burden among Hispanic/Latinx workers. There is a need to expand the utilization of different data systems to improve the surveillance of precarious workers within agriculture. This analysis describes inclusion criteria to identify farm-related injuries and illnesses in hospital data utilizing ICD-10 codes to better assess health equity issues involving Hispanic/Latinx workers and their associated costs.

Disparities in fatal and non-fatal opioid-involved overdoses among middle-aged non-Hispanic Black Men and Women.

The gap in fatal opioid overdose rates has been closing between non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White individuals. The rising opioid-involved mortality rates among non-Hispanic Black adults has been identified by SAMHSA as a critical public health issue. However, further research is needed that utilizes comprehensive surveillance data on both fatal and non-fatal opioid-involved overdoses to better assess the changing trends and evaluate factors contributing to changing disparities.

Poor adherence to dust, noise and safety regulations predict injury rates in underground coal mines.

Background: While safety in US coal mining has improved over the past two decades, general occupational health research shows that risk of injury varies across individual worksites and is influenced by worksite safety cultures and practices.

Methods: In this longitudinal study, we evaluated whether mine-level characteristics reflecting poor adherence to health and safety regulations in underground coal mines are associated with higher acute injury rates. We aggregated Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) data by year for each underground coal mine for the period 2000-2019.

Increased odds of mortality from non-malignant respiratory disease and lung cancer are highest among US coal miners born after 1939.

Objectives: Coal miners suffer increased mortality from non-malignant respiratory diseases (NMRD), including pneumoconioses and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, compared with the US population. We characterised mortality trends from NMRD, lung cancer and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) using data from the Federal Black Lung Program, National Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program and the National Death Index.

Methods: We compared mortality ORs (MORs) for NMRD, lung cancer and IHD in former US coal miners to US white males.

Description of Opioid-involved Hospital Deaths that Do Not Have a Subsequent Autopsy.

Background: Surveillance systems rely on death records to monitor the most severe outcome of the opioid epidemic. However, few studies have linked data from hospital systems with death records to determine potential undercount of opioid-involved deaths occurring in hospitals. This study describes characteristics of decedents less likely to have an autopsy following an opioid-involved death in hospitals and estimates the resulting undercount.

Barriers and Facilitators of Implementing Injury Prevention Practices by Massage Therapists.

Objective: Massage therapy involves pervasive ergonomic hazards with the majority of massage therapists (MTs) experiencing adverse musculoskeletal health issues. A variety of barriers and facilitators exist that can impact the efficacy of safety programs.

Methods: A longitudinal study to characterize individual and organizational barriers and facilitators that influence the implementation of self-care techniques designed to reduce musculoskeletal health issues.

Comparison of health outcomes from heat-related injuries by National Weather Service reported heat wave days and non-heat wave days - Illinois, 2013-2019.

It is predicted that heat waves will increase as climate changes. Related public health interventions have expanded over the past decades but are primarily targeted at health outcomes occurring during heat waves. However, heat adaptation is dynamic and adverse outcomes related to heat injuries occur with moderate increases in temperature throughout the summertime.

Association between Financial Conflicts of Interest and International Labor Office Classifications for Black Lung Disease.

The U.S. Department of Labor administers the Federal Black Lung Program (FBLP), an administrative system charged with managing claims by coal miners for workers' compensation for totally disabling coal mine dust lung disease.

Health Care Utilization of Individuals Affected by Homelessness: Illinois, 2011-2018.

Objectives: To describe individuals coded as homeless in state-level data comprising of outpatient and inpatient cases over a multi-year period to provide public health surveillance data on the health care utilization and needs of this population.

Research Design: In this cross-sectional study, outpatient and inpatient visits coded for homelessness were identified from the Illinois Hospital Discharge Database from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2018. Demographic characteristics, primary diagnosis and comorbid conditions, and hospital course of treatment were described.

Attitudes and behaviors of chiropractic interns toward occupational history taking.

Objective: This study uses a pre- and post-training program evaluation of chiropractic interns to (1) describe changes in their frequency of occupational history taking before and after a 1-hour training and (2) to document the attitudes and beliefs regarding occupational health and history taking.

Methods: All chiropractic interns at 1 clinic location completed questionnaires assessing their attitudes and perceptions regarding documenting the occupational history of their patients each trimester they were enrolled in the study. Each intern enrolled in the study for 2 or more trimesters participated in a 1-hour-long training session on taking an occupational history.