Covid-19 and Worker Issues: Lessons From a University-based Ad-Hoc Network.

The Covid-19 pandemic has made clear the central role of the workplace in public health. Workers and working families have been particularly impacted by a public health and economic crisis that has revealed both structural shortcomings and opportunities for future preparedness. In response to the pandemic, a group of scholars, labor and anti-poverty advocates, activists, union representatives, frontline workers, and public health professionals gathered to share observations and create a forum for information sharing and collaboration.

Proposed Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies Related to Climate Change: Guidance for OEM Professionals.

Climate change is an urgent challenge amplified by socioeconomic factors that demands thoughtful public health responses from OEM professionals. This guidance statement from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine focuses on the different strategies that these health professionals can implement to protect workers from health impacts associated with climate change hazards, foster workplace resilience in the face of rapidly changing environments, and take the necessary steps to mitigate the effects of global climate change.

Union Efforts to Reduce COVID-19 Infections Among Grocery Store Workers.

Grocery store workers are essential workers, but often have not been provided with appropriate protection during the current pandemic. This report describes efforts made by one union local to protect workers, including negotiated paid sick leave and specific safety practices. Union representatives from 319 stores completed 1612 in-store surveys to assess compliance between 23 April 2020 and 31 August 2020.

Partnering to Support Education for Midwives and Nurses in Liberia.

The midwifery and occupational health faculty of a U.S. university were approached by parish and health care leaders from Caldwell, Liberia, for assistance in addressing critical maternal health care needs in their community.

Safe at Home: A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of a Municipal Intervention to Prevent Falls among Low-Income Elderly.

Introduction: Falls are the leading cause of fatal traumatic injury among people over 65 and the rate continues to increase. We evaluated a recently implemented municipal program providing no-cost baseline and follow-up home assessment and home modifications to reduce fall hazards among low-income elderly or disabled residents.

Methods: Program participants received writ ten invitations to return informed consent for phone interviews that included process and outcome evaluation.

Building a Sustainable Construction Workforce.

The average U.S. construction worker is aged 42.

Heat-related deaths among construction workers in the United States.

Background: Heat is a severe hazard for construction workers and may be worsening with global warming. This study sought to explore heat-related deaths among U.S.

Change in prevalence of asbestos-related disease among sheet metal workers 1986 to 2016.

Background: A medical screening program began in 1986 for sheet metal workers exposed to asbestos, primarily while working alongside insulators applying spray-on asbestos materials, a practice banned in 1973. Exposure continues during maintenance, renovation, and repair.

Methods: Radiographic abnormalities among 26 397 sheet metal workers examined from 1986 to 2016 were analyzed by year of entry into the trade.

Perceived Stress and Health among Home Care Aides: Caring for Older Clients in a Medicaid-Funded Home Care Program.

Home care aides (HCAs) provide housekeeping and personal care services to help older clients remain in the community. However, little is known about the health of HCAs, who themselves constitute an underserved population. The goal of this study was to investigate how HCAs' work and life contexts manifest themselves in HCAs' health as perceived by HCAs.

Huntington's Disease and Employment: The Relative Contributions of Cognitive and Motor Decline to the Decision to Leave Work.

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) presents with motor, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms that impair functional capacity and the ability to maintain employment. The relative contribution of cognitive decline to work disability remains controversial.

Objective: To evaluate the association of cognitive decline, compared with motor decline, with the decision to leave work.

Slips, Trips, and Falls Among Home Care Aides: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Objective: To address the gap of knowledge about slips, trips, and falls (STFs) among home care aides (HCAs) who work in clients' homes.

Methods: This mixed method study used survey and focus group data of HCAs in a Medicaid-funded homecare program.

Results: STFs were common with over 12% of HCAs reporting occurrence in the previous 12 months, of whom 58% fell to the ground.

Occupational Health in Community Health Centers: Practitioner Challenges and Recommendations.

Primary care clinicians may be the only source of occupational healthcare for many low-wage, high-risk workers who experience disproportionate occupational hazards. The authors explored barriers to providing occupational healthcare and recommendations for overcoming these challenges. The team conducted six focus groups and eleven key-informant interviews in two community health centers and among clinicians, community health workers, and other personnel from similar settings.

Baby boomers in the United States: Factors associated with working longer and delaying retirement.

Objectives: This study estimated the self-reported probability of working full-time past age 62 (P62) or age 65 (P65) among four cohorts of Americans born between 1931 and 1959.

Methods: Data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were analyzed. Respondents in four age cohorts were selected for comparison.

Economic consequences of workplace injuries in the United States: Findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79).

Background: This study explored economic consequences of work-related injuries using a longitudinal data source.

Methods: Data were from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort (n = 12,686). Short-term consequences were measured when the injury was reported.

Long-term health outcomes of work-related injuries among construction workers--findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Background: This study examined the relationship between work-related injuries and health outcomes among a cohort of blue-collar construction workers.

Materials And Methods: Data were from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort (NLSY79; n = 12,686). A range of health outcomes among blue-collar construction workers (n = 1,435) were measured when they turned age 40 (1998-2006) and stratified by these workers' prior work-related injury status between 1988 and 2000.

Delayed respiratory fatality from trimethylsilyldiazomethane: what do workers need to know about potentially hazardous exposures?

The Occupational Medicine Forum is prepared by the ACOEM Occupational and Environmental Medical Practice Committee and does not necessarily represent an official ACOEM position. The Forum is intended for health professionals and is not intended to provide medical or legal advice, including illness prevention, diagnosis or treatment, or regulatory compliance. Such advice should be obtained directly from a physician and/or attorney.