Who's Behind the Wheel? Work and Health Backgrounds of New Transit Bus Operators.

Objective: Investigate new bus operators' ( N = 293) occupational and health backgrounds to inform how transit authorities can support their future health and job success.

Methods: New bus operators completed surveys and direct measurements that addressed demographics, work history, and 10 health risk factors.

Results: Participants averaged 42.

Circadian alignment, cardiometabolic disease, and sex specific differences in adults with overweight/obesity.

Objective: Circadian disruption promotes weight gain and poor health. The extent to which sex plays a role in the relationship between the circadian timing of behaviors and health outcomes in individuals with overweight/obesity is unclear. We investigated the sex-specific associations between circadian alignment and cardiometabolic health markers in females and males with overweight/obesity.

Translating an Intervention to Address Chronic Pain among Home Care Workers: The COMPASS-NP Pilot.

Objective: To pilot test the COMmunity of Practice And Safety Support for Navigating Pain (COMPASS-NP) intervention for home care workers experiencing chronic pain.

Methods: Home care workers with chronic pain participated (n = 19; 2 groups) in a 10-week online group program focused on workplace safety and pain self-management. Primary outcomes were changes in pain interference with work and life.

Describing Physical Activity Patterns of Truck Drivers Using Actigraphy.

Background: Truck driving is a highly sedentary occupation that places workers at risk for chronic health conditions, such as obesity and high blood pressure. The primary purpose of this study was to objectively describe truck drivers' typical physical activity (PA) patterns.

Methods: We used ∼7-10-day baseline PA actigraphy data samples from drivers in the Safety & Health Involvement For Truckers (SHIFT) study ( = 394).

The Tech4Rest Randomized Controlled Trial: Applying the Hierarchy of Controls to Advance the Sleep, Health, and Well-being of Team Truck Drivers.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to improve sleep, reduce fatigue, and advance the well-being of team truck drivers.

Methods: In a randomized controlled trial ( k = 24 teams; N = 49 drivers; 61.3% of planned sample), intervention teams were exposed to baseline (3-4 weeks), cab enhancements (active suspension seat, therapeutic mattress; 3-4 weeks), and cab enhancements plus a behavioral sleep-health program (1-2 months).

Effects of Low-Intensity Aerobic Exercise on Neurophysiological and Behavioral Correlates of Cognitive Function.

Acute aerobic exercise exerts a small beneficial effect on cognition. Previous research primarily examines cognitive changes following a bout of exercise, while little is currently known about changes in cognitive performance during exercise. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of low-intensity cycling on cognitive function indexed by behavioral (response accuracy; reaction time) and neurocognitive (P3 mean amplitude; P3 centroid latency) responses.

COMMunity of Practice And Safety Support for Navigating Pain (COMPASS-NP): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial with home care workers.

Background: Chronic pain is a prevalent and costly problem that often has occupational origins. Home care workers (HCWs) are at high risk for work-related injuries, pain, and disability. Current treatments for chronic pain emphasize medications, which are an inadequate stand-alone treatment and can produce significant adverse effects.

Primary Prevention of Weight Gain Among New Bus Operators: Results of the "Success & Health Impacts For Transit operators during Onboarding" (SHIFT Onboard) Pilot Study.

Objective: This study aimed to test the feasibility and efficacy of an enhanced onboarding intervention to prevent weight gain and support the early job success of new bus operators.

Methods: Control participants ( n = 9) completed usual practice new employee training and onboarding. Intervention participants ( n = 14) completed five supplemental trainings and four online challenges during their first year.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Transit Workers: Perceptions of Employer Responses and Associations with Health Factors.

COVID-19 has had a substantial impact on transit workers' lives, especially among public-facing vehicle operators. The current project examined relationships between workers' knowledge and perceptions of their employer's COVID-19 safety responses, job attitudes, and health. We surveyed transit workers (N = 174) between July and August 2020 and followed up 3 months later.

Rapid changes in overnight blood pressure after transitioning to early-morning shiftwork.

Risk for adverse cardiovascular events increases when blood pressure does not decrease at night ("non-dipping," <10% decrease from daytime blood pressure). Shiftwork alters relationships between behaviors and endogenous circadian rhythms (i.e.

Bus Operators' Body Weight Changes During Their First 2 Years of Work: A Retrospective Survey.

Objective: To empirically assess retrospective reports of weight changes during bus operators' first years on the job, and to investigate experienced and desired training topics for new operators.

Methods: Bus operators (n = 261) completed an online survey on topics of early weight changes and training experiences.

Results: Operators reported gaining an average of 7.

A Comparison of Safety, Health, and Well-Being Risk Factors Across Five Occupational Samples.

The aim of this study was to present safety, health and well-being profiles of workers within five occupations: call center work ( = 139), corrections ( = 85), construction ( = 348), homecare ( = 149), and parks and recreation ( = 178). Baseline data from the Data Repository of Oregon's Healthy Workforce Center were used. Measures were compared with clinical healthcare guidelines and national norms.

Advancing the Safety, Health, and Well-Being of Commercial Driving Teams Who Sleep in Moving Semi-Trucks: The Tech4Rest Pilot Study.

Objective: To test the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of engineering and behavioral interventions to improve the sleep, health, and well-being of team truck drivers (dyads) who sleep in moving semi-trucks.

Methods: Drivers (n = 16) were exposed to Condition A: a new innerspring mattress, and Condition B: a novel therapeutic mattress. A subsample of drivers (n = 8) were also exposed to Condition C: use of their preferred mattress (all chose to keep B), switching to an active suspension driver's seat, and completing a behavioral sleep-health program.

Infliximab Trough Levels Are Not Predictive of Relapse in Patients with IBD in Endoscopic Remission: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Background: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is important in optimizing use of biologics in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). However, the role of proactive TDM during remission remains uncertain.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients receiving infliximab (IFX) therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital or Erasmus University Medical Center.

Exploring biopsychosocial correlates of pain, pain management strategies, and risk for opioid misuse among home care workers in Washington State.

Home care workers (HCWs) are at high risk for musculoskeletal pain and injury, and they are an important population for pain management research and intervention. The purpose of this study was to gather novel data on HCWs' work characteristics, pain experiences, pain management strategies, and risk for opioid misuse. A survey invitation was e-mailed to a random sub-sample of HCWs in Washington State, and 421 responded.

Challenging Aggressive Behaviors Experienced by Personal Support Workers in Comparison to Home Care Workers: Relationships between Caregiver Experiences and Psychological Health.

Personal support workers (PSW) are caregivers for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) or adults experiencing mental illness or other behavioral health conditions. The work can be very meaningful, but many PSWs must prepare for, monitor, and manage challenging behaviors, including aggression. This study was designed to estimate the prevalence of aggression experienced by PSWs in Oregon, and compare it to a previous sample of Oregon home care workers (HCWs).

Acute aerobic exercise increases respiratory sinus arrythmia reactivity and recovery to a sad film among individuals at risk for depression.

Cardiac vagal control (CVC), as indexed by abnormalities in resting, reactivity, and recovery levels of respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA), has been proposed as an index of impaired self-regulatory capacity in depression. Aerobic exercise has been shown to improve positive and negative affective responses and influence autonomic function; however, it is unknown whether exercise impacts RSA reactivity and subsequent recovery to emotional challenges among individuals at risk for depression. The present study aimed to determine the effects of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on RSA reactivity and recovery to a sad film.

Does Experiencing an Injury Claim Impact Small Construction Company Leaders' Participation in a Fall Protection Survey?

Objectives: Workers in small and medium residential construction companies (≤50 employees) have a high risk of fall-related fatality or disability. However, little is known about effective ways to engage with this subsector for research and training. We tested whether insurance-documented fall-related claims during the past 12 months and lower familiarity with equipment motivated companies' representatives to engage with a fall protection survey.

Does aerobic fitness moderate age-related cognitive slowing? Evidence from the P3 and lateralized readiness potentials.

Reaction time (RT) slowing occurs among older adults, although it remains unclear whether general or specific aspects of information-processing are implicated in this phenomenon. Aerobic fitness moderates age-related RT slowing, although it is unknown whether fitness benefits earlier versus later stages of information-processing. To test these hypotheses, 40 younger and 43 older adults classified by level of aerobic fitness were tested using a visual oddball paradigm to assess behavioral measures of RT and accuracy along with the P3 wave and lateralized readiness potential (LRP) to index stimulus categorization and response selection and execution processes, respectively.

Associations of depression severity with heart rate and heart rate variability in young adults across normative and clinical populations.

Limitations of current depression treatments may arise from a lack of knowledge about unique psychophysiological processes that contribute to depression across the full range of presentations. This study examined how individual variations in heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) are related to depressive symptoms across normative and clinical populations in 152 young adults (aged 18-35 years). Moderating effects of sex and antidepressant medication status were considered.

Lower resting cardiac autonomic balance in young adults with current major depression.

Research on cardiac autonomic function in major depressive disorder (MDD) has predominantly examined cardiac vagal control and adopted a model of reciprocal autonomic balance. A proposed bivariate autonomic continuum uses cardiac autonomic balance (CAB) and cardiac autonomic regulation (CAR) models, derived from normalized values of respiratory sinus arrhythmia and pre-ejection period, to more adequately index patterns of autonomic control. The purpose of this study was to assess resting levels of CAB and CAR among young adults with and without a current diagnosis of major depression.

Process Evaluation of a Mobile Weight Loss Intervention for Truck Drivers.

Background: In a cluster-randomized trial, the Safety and Health Involvement For Truck drivers intervention produced statistically significant and medically meaningful weight loss at 6 months (-3.31 kg between-group difference). The current manuscript evaluates the relative impact of intervention components on study outcomes among participants in the intervention condition who reported for a postintervention health assessment ( = 134) to encourage the adoption of effective tactics and inform future replications, tailoring, and enhancements.

From Research-to-Practice: An Adaptation and Dissemination of the COMPASS Program for Home Care Workers.

The COMmunity of Practice And Safety Support (COMPASS) program was developed to prevent injuries and advance the health and well-being of home care workers. The program integrates elements of peer-led social support groups with scripted team-based programs to help workers learn together, solve problems, set goals, make changes, and enrich their supportive professional network. After a successful pilot study and randomized controlled trial, COMPASS was adapted for the Oregon Home Care Commission's training system for statewide dissemination.

Research Methodologies for Total Worker Health®: Proceedings From a Workshop.

Objective: There is growing interest in the NIOSH Total Worker Health program, specifically in the process of designing and implementing safer, health-promoting work and workplaces. A Total Worker Health (TWH) Research Methodology Workshop was convened to discuss research methods and future needs.

Methods: Twenty-six experts in occupational safety and health and related fields reviewed and discussed current methodological and measurement issues and those showing promise.