Category: NIOSH-funded Research

Ergonomics Climate Assessment

  Researchers from Colorado State University and the Colorado School of Public Health recently found workplaces that value employees’ safety and well-being as much as company productivity yield the greatest rewards. The study, “Ergonomics Climate Assessment: A measure of operational performance and employee well-being,” was recently published in the Applied Ergonomics journal.  The study describes Read More >

Posted on by Krista Hoffmeister, PhD, AEP; Alyssa Gibbons, Ph.D.; Natalie Schwatka, Ph.D., AEP; and John Rosecrance, PhD, CPE2 Comments

Respiratory Hazards for Latino Horse Farm Workers

With the upcoming Belmont Stakes and the possibility of a Triple Crown winner, all eyes are on the world of horse racing. These races are the culmination of years of work far from the glory of the grand stage of horse racing. What is not seen on this grand stage is that there are many Read More >

Posted on by Jennifer E. Swanberg, Ph.D., MMHS, OTR and Jess Miller Clouser, MPH 2 Comments

Work-family Conflict, Sleep, and the Heart

  Health care workers represent an increasingly important and ever growing work force in our society. They are also a group of “high-risk workers” meaning they report a lot of musculoskeletal pain, work-related injuries and sleep deficiencies. In addition to this, many health care workers labor in rotating shifts, with little time in-between shifts, so Read More >

Posted on by Orfeu M. Buxton, PhD and Henrik Jacobsen, PhD 7 Comments

WTC Rescue/Recovery and Obstructive Airway Disease

  The inhalation of chemicals, particulate matter (dusts and fibers), and the incomplete products of combustion during occupational and environmental disasters has long been associated with respiratory disorders[1]. While there is substantial literature on the association between respiratory diseases and chronic environmental exposures such as air pollution and long term occupational exposure in industries such Read More >

Posted on by Charles B. Hall, PhD6 Comments

Hypertension and Low Wages

If workers earning low wages didn’t have enough stressors in their lives, they can now add hypertension to the list.  Our new research finds that low wages are a risk factor for hypertension among working people.  The research was recently published in the European Journal of Public Health, “Are Low Wages Risk Factors for Hypertension?”, Read More >

Posted on by J. Paul Leigh, Ph.D. and Juan Du, Ph.D. 10 Comments

Sleep, Pain, and Hospital Workers

We know that decreased sleep duration and extended shifts in healthcare workers are linked to workplace injuries.  The effects of decreased sleep on pain in the workplace are less clear.  New research from the Harvard Center for Work, Health and Wellbeing  –one of four NIOSH Centers of Excellence funded to explore and research the concepts Read More >

Posted on by Orfeu M. Buxton, PhD; Glorian Sorensen, PhD, MPH 16 Comments