Acute Kidney Injury Among Florida Construction Workers: A Pilot Study.

Background: While construction workers have the second highest rate of heat-related mortality, less is known about the prevelance of heat-related illness (HRI) symptoms, dehydration and kidney dysfunction. The aim of this study was to conduct a biomedical field-based study with construction workers to characterize HRI symptoms, dehydration, and kidney dysfunction, and analyze relationships between post-work urine specific gravity (USG) percentiles and predictors such as work hours, water consumption, and sugary beverage consumption.

Methods: In collaboration with the Farmworker Association of Florida, 58 construction workers in Central Florida were monitored pre- and post-work shift on one workday.

Leveraging Narrative Reflective Writing to Teach Nursing Students About Social Determinants of Health by Harnessing "Small Moments".

Background: There is increasing recognition that social determinants of health (SDOH) profoundly affect health outcomes. Frontline nurses must grasp how SDOH shape health disparities and inequities.

Purpose: This paper describes an innovative pedagogical approach that leverages didactic, experiential, and reflective methods, specifically a "small moments" writing activity, to enhance students' understanding of SDOH.

ARCHWAy: an innovative educational program advancing the public health workforce.

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) are vital yet often invisible contributors to care coordination, health equity, and public health (PH) in medically underserved areas. The Atlanta Regional Community Health Workforce Advancement (ARCHWAy) Program leverages cross-sector partners to increase the number of CHWs on integrated care teams in metro Atlanta in the United States.

Methods: The ARCHWAy Program provides an innovative educational curriculum guided by United States Department of Labor CHW competencies and cross-walked with the Georgia CHW Initiative competencies.

The nurse-led equitable learning framework for training programs: A framework to grow, bolster and diversify the nursing and public health workforce.

Background: Addressing threats to the nursing and public health workforce, while also strengthening the skills of current and future workers, requires programmatic solutions. Training programs should be guided by frameworks, which leverage nursing expertise and leadership, partnerships, and integrate ongoing evaluation.

Purpose Statement: This article provides a replicable framework to grow, bolster, and diversify the nursing and public health workforces, known as the Nurse-led Equitable Learning (NEL) Framework for Training Programs.

Longitudinal Renal Function Degradation Among Florida Agricultural Workers.

Objective: This longitudinal study evaluated renal function and acute kidney injury (AKI) over time in US agricultural workers.

Methods: We followed Florida agricultural workers from January 2020 to August 2022, collecting blood and urine preworkday and postworkday during five visits.

Results: Preworkday estimated glomerular filtration rate function in all participants was lower in summers but relatively consistent over time.

"Caminando Con Riesgo": perceptions of occupational injury, workplace safety and workers rights among Spanish-speaking hospitalized patients.

Introduction: Occupational health disparities are well documented among immigrant populations and occupational injury remains a high cause of morbidity and mortality among immigrant populations. There are several factors that contribute to the high prevalence of work-related injury among this population and those without legal status are more likely to experience abusive labor practices that can lead to injury. While the work-related injuries and experiences of Spanish-speaking workers have been explored previously, there is a paucity of literature documenting injury among hospitalized patients.

The impact of heat exposures on biomarkers of AKI and plasma metabolome among agricultural and non-agricultural workers.

Background: Agricultural workers are consistently exposed to elevated heat exposures and vulnerable to acute kidney injury. The underlying pathophysiology and detailed molecular mechanisms of AKI among agricultural workers, and the disproportionate burden of HRI and heat stress exposure are not well understood, especially at the level of cellular metabolism.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of heat exposures on renal biomarkers and on the human metabolome via untargeted high-resolution metabolomics among agricultural and non-agricultural workers.

Retention of Agricultural Workers Participating in a Renal Longitudinal Study.

Objectives: The relationship between heat stress, chronic kidney diseases and acute kidney injury has been documented in cross-sectional studies with agricultural workers. However, only a few international studies have assessed renal function in agricultural workers longitudinally. Our research study, Occupational Heat Exposure and Renal Dysfunction (OHEaRD) is the first longitudinal study in the U.

A Pilot Study Examining the Use of Ultrasound to Measure Intravascular Volume Status in Agricultural Workers in a Field-Based Research Setting.

Objective: The aim of this pilot study was to explore if internal jugular vein (IJV) ultrasound studies on agricultural workers in a field-based research setting could assess volume status during a hydration intervention.

Methods: We performed pre- and post-work shift IJV ultrasound images on 30 agricultural workers. The IJV collapsibility index values were <39% (euvolemic) or ≥39% (hypovolemic).

Soft Wireless Bioelectronics Designed for Real-Time, Continuous Health Monitoring of Farmworkers.

Hotter summers caused by global warming and increased workload and duration are endangering the health of farmworkers, a high-risk population for heat-related illness (HRI), and deaths. Although prior studies using wearable sensors show the feasibility of employing field-collected data for HRI monitoring, existing devices still have limitations, such as data loss from motion artifacts, device discomfort from rigid electronics, difficulties with administering ingestible sensors, and low temporal resolution. Here, this paper introduces a wireless, wearable bioelectronic system with functionalities for continuous monitoring of skin temperature, electrocardiograms (ECG), heart rates (HR), and activities, configured in a single integrated package.

Hydration Interventions Among Agricultural Workers: A Pilot Study.

Objective: To estimate the impact of hydration interventions on postworkday hydration status and incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI).

Methods: Thirty agricultural workers were first monitored on a workday without any interventions. On the intervention workday, the same workers were randomized to one of two groups: 169 ounces (oz) (5 L) of plain water (n = 16) or 169 oz (5L) of water with electrolytes (n = 14).

The Health Status of Hispanic Agricultural Workers in Georgia and Florida.

To examine the health status of Hispanic agricultural workers in Florida and Georgia. Health data from agricultural workers in the Farm Worker Family Health Program (June 2019) and research studies in Florida (May 2015 and May 2019) were examined. Data from 728 agricultural workers were collected through sociodemographic questionnaire and clinical data.

COVID-19 and Agricultural Workers: A Descriptive Study.

Agricultural workers, designated as "essential" at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, work in harsh labor conditions, and now have the added challenge of continuing to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess agricultural workers' COVID-19 related history, employer-based safety measures, individual preventive practices, and COVID-19 vaccination uptake. A questionnaire study was conducted among agricultural workers in Central Florida about COVID-19 during the month of June 2020 and again in July 2021.

Inflammation-Related Factors Identified as Biomarkers of Dehydration and Subsequent Acute Kidney Injury in Agricultural Workers.

Globally, there is increasing recognition that agricultural workers are at risk for chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKD). Recurrent heat exposure, physical exertion, dehydration, muscle damage, and inflammation are hypothesized to contribute to the development of CKD, but the relative importance of these processes and the interactions among them remain unclear. Moreover, there is a need to identify biomarkers that could distinguish individuals who are at greatest risk for kidney damage to target preventative interventions for CKD.

Nursing is never neutral: Political determinants of health and systemic marginalization.

The nursing community in the United States polarized in September 2020 between Dawn Wooten's whistleblowing about forced hysterectomies at an immigration center in Georgia and the American Nurses Association's refusal to endorse a presidential candidate despite the Trump administration's mounting failures to address the public health crisis posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This reveals a need for more attention to political aspects of health outcome inequities. As advocates for health equity, nurses can join in recent scholarship and activism concerning the political determinants of health.

Cooling Interventions Among Agricultural Workers: Qualitative Field-Based Study.

Introduction: Agricultural workers perform intense labor outside in direct sunlight and in humid environmental conditions exposing them to a high risk of heat-related illness (HRI). To implement effective cooling interventions in occupational settings, it is important to consider workers' perceptions. To date, an analysis of agricultural workers' experience and perception of cooling devices used in the field while working has not been published.

Cooling Interventions Among Agricultural Workers: A Pilot Study.

Background: Adverse health effects among agricultural workers due to chronic heat exposure have been characterized in the literature as not only due to high ambient temperatures but also due to intensive manual labor in hot and humid conditions. The aim of this study was to use biomonitoring equipment to examine the effectiveness of selected cooling devices at preventing agricultural workers from exceeding the core body temperature threshold of 38.0°C (Tc38) and attenuating heat-related illness symptoms.

Cooling intervention studies among outdoor occupational groups: A review of the literature.

Background: The purpose of this systematic review is to examine cooling intervention research in outdoor occupations, evaluate the effectiveness of such interventions, and offer recommendations for future studies. This review focuses on outdoor occupational studies conducted at worksites or simulated occupational tasks in climatic chambers.

Methods: This systematic review was performed in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines.

Chronic Kidney Disease Among Workers: A Review of the Literature.

For the past two decades, agricultural workers in regions of Central America have reported an epidemic of chronic kidney disease of undetermined etiology (CKDu) that is not associated with established risk factors of chronic kidney disease. Several hypotheses have emerged, but the etiology of CKDu remains elusive and controversial. The aim of this literature review was to describe the potential risk factors of CKDu in Mesoamerica and implications for the U.