Tuberculosis Screening in Silica-Exposed Workers : Developing a Tool for Health Care Providers.

Both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Washington State require safety and health protections for workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica, including tuberculosis (TB) screening as part of occupational medical surveillance. We describe the creation of a TB screening tool for silica-exposed workers receiving regulated medical surveillance examinations in Washington State. The tool provides relevant clinical recommendations to assist health care providers and public health practitioners who choose to use the tool when performing such examinations.

Severe Silicosis in Engineered Stone Fabrication Workers - California, Colorado, Texas, and Washington, 2017-2019.

Silicosis is an incurable occupational lung disease caused by inhaling particles of respirable crystalline silica. These particles trigger inflammation and fibrosis in the lungs, leading to progressive, irreversible, and potentially disabling disease. Silica exposure is also associated with increased risk for lung infection (notably, tuberculosis), lung cancer, emphysema, autoimmune diseases, and kidney disease (1).

Promoting Early, Safe Return to Work in Injured Employees: A Randomized Trial of a Supervisor Training Intervention in a Healthcare Setting.

Purpose Supervisors in the healthcare sector have the potential to contribute to disability prevention in injured employees. Published data on the evaluation of return to work (RTW) interventions aimed at direct supervisors are scarce. We sought to determine the effect of a brief audiovisual supervisor training module on supervisor RTW attitudes and knowledge.

Risk of Pancreatic Cancer in Female Textile Workers in Shanghai, China, Exposed to Metals, Solvents, Chemicals, and Endotoxin: Follow-Up to a Nested Case-Cohort Study.

Objective: We studied associations between pancreatic cancer and occupational exposures to metals, solvents, chemicals, and endotoxin in a cohort of female textile workers in Shanghai, China. To assess the longer-term influences of these agents on pancreatic cancer we extended follow-up of this previously studied cohort.

Methods: We utilized a job exposure matrix to assess occupational exposures for 481 pancreatic cancer cases and a randomly selected sub-cohort of 3191 non-cases.

Introduction to Evidence-Based Decision Making in a Public Workers' Compensation Agency.

Peer-reviewed medical literature plays a decisive role in policy development at the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I). L&I relies on multiple evidence-based mechanisms to make coverage decisions and translate medical science into public policy, including statute, rule writing, executive policy, real-time evidence assessment, pilot testing, and collaboration with researchers. Elements of L&I's policy process structure and evidence-based culture are also observed in original literature discussing the needs and barriers of incorporating evidence into public policy.