2021 Recorded Webinars

In the United States, an estimated 1.45 million workers use vibrating tools. Workers who use high vibrating power tools regularly are at risk of nerve damage and restricted blood flow to the hand and fingers, also known as Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS). HAVS-related...Read more about Workplace Vibration: Health Hazards, Measurement Protocol, and Controls

COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of understanding how communicable diseases are transmitted and the relationships between different transmission routes. Exposure modeling is a useful tool for exploring and describing the fate and transport of viral...Read more about The Air-Surface Interface of Viral Contamination: What Can Exposure Modeling Tell Us?

Construction workers continue to experience high rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), with the back and shoulder being the most impacted body regions. Exoskeletons are wearable devices that support the physical capacity of the wearer and offer a...Read more about Exoskeleton Use: Perspectives and Challenges based on a National Survey of Construction Workers

In our global fight against the Novel Coronavirus pandemic, adequate ventilation has emerged as a key mitigation factor. Drawing from real-world examples from more than 100 buildings, David Moore, MPH, CIH, will share his experience and methods for expeditiously...Read more about Expeditiously Assessing School and Workplace Ventilation for COVID Mitigation

The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges in efforts to protect both workers and the public. A lack of respirators for health-care workers spurred research on the development of alternatives to the N95 respirator as well as methods to decontaminate...Read more about Respirator Development in the Time of COVID-19

The LOHP School Action for Safety and Health (SASH) program is a state-wide initiative that helps school districts reduce injury and illness among school employees. This webinar with Dr. Robert Harrison will discuss pathways for protecting teachers and staff in schools,...Read more about School Worker Health & Safety: COVID-19 Vaccinations

As schools and businesses reopen around the U.S., quantitative infection risk assessment can be used in the decision-making process. This presentation will explore two case studies where the Wells-Riley model was used to calculate SARS-CoV-2 transmission...Read more about Estimating Indoor Transmission Risks of SARS-CoV-2

Cleaning activities are typically not the primary business line of the organizations they serve. These services are often contracted out, which can lead to working conditions being overlooked. This webinar will explore workload issues among commercial janitors and...Read more about Washington State Janitors' Workload Study

As COVID-19 deaths rise, existing structural inequalities continue to shape racial disparities. This webinar will investigate the racial disparities in COVID-19 mortality among America’s essential workers. Data from the American Community Survey and Current Population...Read more about Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality Among Essential Workers in the United States

While some levels of stress can have benefits in motivation, chronic workplace stress causes overwhelm and can erode personal health. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased levels of workplace stress significantly for school employees. This webinar teaches you about the...Read more about Managing Stress and Building Resilience Among School Employees

Nail technicians represent an under-studied occupation in terms of health and safety. Current research in this area will be presented, including chemical exposure measurements, reproductive health surveys, and future goals for community engagement.Read more about Chemical Exposures and Reproductive Health of Nail Technicians

Back injuries are one of the most common forms of farm-related injuries. Protecting the back is vital for producers to stay active on the farm. Men and women are both prone to work-related back pain, with the first episode typically occurring between the...Read more about Discovering the Root of Your Back Story: Understanding and Preventing Back Injuries

Firearms emit a complex mixture of inorganic and organic compounds that pose health risks. These compounds, or gunshot residues (GSRs), must be removed from the firearm to assure its proper function and for the safety of the user. Cleaning requires the use...Read more about Permeation Through Disposable Nitrile Gloves: Gun Cleaning Solvents and Gunshot Residue

Workers at craft breweries are an understudied population in a rapidly growing industry. Craft beer is produced through a manufacturing process which exposes workers to numerous occupational hazards including awkward body postures, lifting/carrying heavy...Read more about Hazards in the Craft Brewing Industry: Understanding Injuries through Workers' Compensation Data

Structural firefighters are exposed to many environmental stressors while still expected to make critical decisions on the job. Firefighters are exposed to high temperatures, perform physically demanding tasks, and wear heavy PPE, which all contribute to an...Read more about Effects of Chronic Heat Stress and Shift Work on Postural Stability in Firefighters: A Pilot Study

For more than 25 years, health risks associated with surgical smoke exposure have been debated. In 1996, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) confirmed that smoke produced by laser or electrosurgery units may contain toxic vapors, blood...Read more about Supporting Surgical Smoke Evacuation Legislation Through A Policy Analysis

Children are particularly vulnerable to wildfire smoke. Low cost tools for assessing particulate matter exposure are available, but understanding their limitations is critical. Improving indoor air quality is key to decreasing exposure, and there are known health...Read more about Wildfire Smoke Exposure in Kids: How to Mitigate Health Effects

Worldwide, 2.7 billion people rely on onsite sanitation systems that are not connected to sewer systems. These facilities are cleaned and maintained by informal and invisible sanitation workers at a great risk to their health and dignity. This webinar will focus on how...Read more about Promoting Sanitation Worker Health and Safety through Social Enterprise

Health literacy refers to an individual’s ability to understand and act on health information. It also refers to a communicator’s ability to develop messages or materials that are easy for readers of all literacy levels to comprehend. Low health literacy and numeracy are...Read more about Health Literacy in Practice: Risk Communication

Exposure to extreme heat can result in occupational illnesses and injuries including heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, and heat rashes. This presentation will explore the public health burden of heat stress in agricultural workers in the United States. Learners...Read more about Quantifying Occupational Heat Stress Among U.S. Agricultural Workers

97% of U.S. adults own a cellphone of some kind. The vast majority, 85%, own a smartphone. This presentation will summarize research on biologic and health effects from exposure to radio frequency radiation emitted by cell phones and cell towers. Learners will also...Read more about Health Effects of Cellphone & Cell Tower Radiation: Implications for 5G

Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in crowded, close-contact, and poorly ventilated indoor spaces is of increased concern with the emergence of the highly infectious Delta variant. As more people return to the workplace, layered control measures must continue to be...Read more about Elevator Ventilation and SARS-CoV-2 Particulate Matter Removal

Falls are common, costly, and preventable, yet in 2019, 880 workers died in falls and 244,000 were injured badly enough to require days off of work. This presentation will review current research on how falls happen, and how to prevent slips, trips, and...Read more about Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls: Current Research and Trends

Intensive care unit nurses are at increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, due to their stressful work environment. The disorder of PTSD, often thought of as affecting soldiers who have fought in war, has changed over time with new knowledge. Findings...Read more about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Intensive Care Unit Nurses: Findings of a Concept Analysis ​

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the imminent need for rapid surveillance at the community level to track potential outbreak clusters ahead of clinical diagnosis, particularly considering the important role of asymptomatic infection in transmission. Wastewater...Read more about COVID-19 Wastewater Monitoring: Tracking SARS-CoV-2 Infection Dynamics Through Genome Sequencing

Many ergonomic evaluation and risk assessment tools have been around for decades, and were designed to evaluate single or mono-task work. In practice, there are few single-task jobs. Most work is multi-task, exposing the worker to ergonomic risk factors of...Read more about Rules for Tools: Characteristics of Effective Ergonomic Assessment Tools