Latino construction workers in the U.S. have faced a disproportionate risk for COVID-19 infection in the workplace. Prior studies have focused on quantifying workplace risk for COVID-19 infection; few have captured workers' experiences and perspectives. This study describes COVID-19-related workplace risks from the perspectives of Latino construction workers. We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured phone interviews with Latino construction workers from the Fruitvale District of Oakland, California. Twenty individuals were interviewed from December 2020 to March 2021....
Background: Mitigating bloodborne pathogen exposure (BBPE) risk among healthcare workers is a major focus of hospital-based occupational health programs. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed added demands on occupational health services for healthcare workers. Its impact on BBPE incidence is unreported. Methods: As part of quality improvement efforts, we examined BBPE case incidence at two affiliated health centers during a 24-month period, 12 months preceding and following the COVID-19 pandemic onset. We used Year 1 to Year 2 change in incidence at the larger health center...
Purpose of review: Military personnel deployed to Southwest Asia and Afghanistan were potentially exposed to high levels of fine particulate matter and other pollutants from multiple sources, including dust storms, burn pit emissions from open-air waste burning, local ambient air pollution, and a range of military service-related activities that can generate airborne exposures. These exposures, individually or in combination, can have adverse respiratory health effects. We review exposures and potential health impacts, providing a framework for evaluation.
Hotel room cleaners are a vulnerable population at risk for cardiovascular disease. To evaluate their workload heart rate (HR), % heart rate reserve (%HRR), blood pressure (BP), metabolic equivalent (MET), and energy expenditure (EE) were measured over two workdays and two off-workdays. The mean age was 45.5 (SD 8.2) years with a mean 10.4 (SD 7.8) years of work experience. Mean average and peak HR, %HRR, MET, and EE were significantly higher during a workday than an off-workday for the entire work shift, first and last hour of work. Mean average HR and %HRR saw the largest increase...
Respirable silica exposure has been strongly and consistently linked to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) among foundry workers, persons in the construction trades, stone crushers and drillers, and coal miners. However, risk of RA in hard rock mining has not been thoroughly investigated.
Objective
To analyze occupational risk of RA in hard rock miners in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.
Design, Setting, and Participants
This cross-sectional survey study estimated the association between mining industry work and reported RA in a random-digit...
The purpose of this systematic review is to determine the frequency of violent or aggressive behaviour towards healthcare workers in inpatient psychiatric settings in the United States. To achieve this aim, five databases were searched to find English-language quantitative studies reporting prevalence or incidence data of violence or aggression directed towards staff members in inpatient psychiatric settings. No limitations were set based on publication date, and intervention studies were included only if baseline data were provided. Of 335 total studies found, 38 full-text articles...
Workplace violence (WV) is a significant and growing problem for health care workers. Increased recognition of the need for improved protections has led to policy initiatives at the state and federal levels, including national Joint Commission requirements that went into effect January 2022. California's WV prevention legislation was phased in during 2017-2018 and requires hospitals to use a new incident reporting system, the Workplace Violent Incident Reporting System (WVIRS) for Hospitals. We analyzed WVIRS data collected during the first three years of its implementation, July 1,...
Audrey Lawrence, MPH, serves as the Director of Safety, Health, and Wellness at the San Francisco International Airport, where she has worked for 30+ years.
Join the AIHA Northern California Section and COEH for a deep dive into lead safety. Discuss upcoming revisions to the lead-related construction standards under Title 17, the requirements of Senate Bill 1076, and opportunities for public comment on proposed changes. Explore the role of California’s Occupational Blood Lead Registry in tracking and managing work-related lead exposure, how the data collected helps prevent lead poisoning, and how data can inform safe work practices. Finally, summarize revisions to Cal/OSHA’s lead standards and the goals of...
Ventilation is an essential engineering control for optimizing indoor air quality and minimizing the impact of wildfire smoke events, climate change exacerbated allergies, COVID-19 surges and variants, and in preparing for future pandemics. This in-person, hands-on training will review the basics of assessing ventilation at the occupant level, and help you identify a framework to identify and address ventilation vulnerabilities.
During the workshop, learners will use balometers to collect and analyze data, and to calculate air changes per hour. Learners will also receive hands-on...
