Blog Posts

Research Ethics During a Pandemic: The Seattle Flu Study & COVID-19

February 8, 2021

Dr. Helen Chu, an infectious disease expert at the University of Washington, and her team began the Seattle Flu Study (SFS) in 2018. According to Dr. Chu, “The objective of the Seattle Flu Study was to develop a pandemic surveillance platform that could be used to identify new pathogens and develop strategies for rapid containment of spread, before the months to years it would take for a vaccine to be developed.”

When COVID-19 concerns began circulating in the US, the SFS team...

UCSF Virtual CME Conference begins on March 10, 2021

February 11, 2021

New Jobs, Novel Technologies, and Changing Hazards at Work and in the Environment and Updates in OEM

This virtual conference is presented by COEH’s Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM) at the University of California, San Francisco and will take place March 10-13, 2021. This year’s topic is New Jobs, Novel Technologies, and Changing Hazards at Work and in the Environment and Updates in OEM.

The curriculum is designed for occupational and environmental health professionals. While...

The Economics of Ergonomics

April 12, 2021

In addition to supporting worker health and safety, ergonomically sound work environments also provide important economic benefits.

Research suggests workplace safety initiatives are associated with an average of:

66% increase in productivity (2% - 104%)

44% increase in quality (4% - 73%)

82% increase in safety records (52% - 100%)

71% increase in cost benefits (38% - 100%)

In some cases, it...

Worker Deaths Increase from Methylene Chloride Paint Strippers

May 26, 2021

Dr. Dennis Shusterman and Dr. Robert Harrison co-authored a new JAMA study of methylene chloride solvent hazards. The study found there have been more fatalities than expected from the chemical methylene chloride, commonly used in paint strippers, from 1980 to 2018. The study is the first comprehensive review of fatalities linked to the chemical in the U.S., and revealed an increase in occupational fatalities related to both paint stripping and bathroom construction since 2000.

According to the authors, "Results of this case series demonstrated that despite...

Revised COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards Effective Today

June 18, 2021

Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board votes to adopt revised COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards; Governor Newsom signs executive order for immediate adoption

On Thursday, June 17, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted 5-1 to adopt new revisions to Cal/OSHA's COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) following more than two hours of public comment. During the meeting, a number of business groups and individuals urged board members to go further and eliminate the COVID-19 ETS, while labor representatives and...

N95DECON: International Collaboration During COVID-19

July 21, 2021

N95DECON is a voluntary collective of scientists, engineers, clinicians, and students from universities around the world, as well as other professionals in the private sector. Formed in March 2020, this scientific consortium mobilized to study, synthesize, and disseminate scientific information on respiratory protection during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pop-up international research collaborations are not common, but the pandemic created an immediate need and united interest...

Preschool, Daycare Do Not Raise Asthma Risk

April 11, 2018

Alicia Swartz, RN, PNP, PhD candidate at UCSF’s School of Nursing is lead author of a meta-analysis assessing the link between asthma and daycare and preschool attendance published in the April 8th issue of the Journal of Asthma.

Read about the study and results at...

CDPH’s Occupational Health Watch

December 17, 2018

The California Department of Public Health’s April 2018 Occupational Health Watch newsletter highlights the dangers of methylene chloride, includes a list of Worker’s Memorial Day events, and a new web page that has resources for landscaping and tree trimming – two high-hazard occupations.

CHAMACOS Highlighted in the New York Times

August 30, 2018

Dr. Brenda Eskenazi and her research from the CHAMACOS study was highlighted in a full length New York Times feature earlier this week. Congratulations to Dr. Eskenazi and the entire CHAMACOS team!

We encourage you to take a few minutes of your time to read this very important article online here

...

OEHN Poster Wins Big at 2019 AAOHN National Conference

April 17, 2019

In collaboration with LOHP's Laura Stock and Kelsie Scruggs, OEHN Master’s graduate and current PhD student, Victoria Flores Michalchuk, and OEHN faculty member, Soo-Jeong Lee, were coauthors of a 1st-Place winning poster at the 2019 AAOHN National Conference titled,“Impact of California Safe Patient Handling Legislation: Health Care Workers’ Experiences.”