Category: Occupational Health Equity

How Tribal Communities Can Use the Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Program

  The final blog post in our series celebrating Native American Heritage Month highlights a free program available to anyone, including American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities, employers, and workers. Some may not be aware of this service, though it has been part of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Helath (NIOSH) around Read More >

Posted on by Amy Mobley, MEn; James Couch, PhD, CIH; Elizabeth Dalsey, MA

American Indian and Alaska Native Workers

  This is the second blog post in our series celebrating Native American Heritage Month. It provides a general description of the American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) workforce using the NIOSH Employed Labor Force (ELF) Query System. Read the first blog post here. AI/AN workers are employed in various occupations and industries. Understanding where Read More >

Posted on by Amy Mobley, MEn; Jeffrey Shire, MS; Elizabeth Dalsey, MA; Marie Haring Sweeney, PhD, MPH

Native American Heritage Month: Honoring American Indian and Alaska Native Workers

  There are currently 574 federally recognized tribes across the United States. American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) workers play a crucial role in the U.S. workforce and economy, yet little is known about the hazards that AI/AN workers face. This is the first in a series of blog posts by the National Institute for Read More >

Posted on by Elizabeth Dalsey, MA5 Comments

Sharing quality information on all things related to hearing: Wiki4WorldHearingDay2023

Background The U.S. workforce is ethnically diverse. Lack of safety and health training and language barriers are among the most frequently cited challenges companies face in promoting safety among immigrant workers (Flynn, 2014). Contributing quality, plain language health information in multiple languages to Wikipedia increases its accessibility and reach. Unaddressed hearing loss is a serious Read More >

Posted on by Thais C. Morata, Lillian Jacob, Fernanda Zucki, João Alexandre Peschanski, and Shelly Chadha.2 Comments

Personal Protective Equipment Fit in the Construction Sector

The construction sector includes a diverse population of workers exposed to many different types of hazards. An important way to prevent occupational illness and injury related to these hazards is by implementing the hierarchy of controls. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is the last control in the hierarchy, but PPE is particularly important when the other Read More >

Posted on by Mirle Pena, MS; Meghan Kiederer, BA; Patrick G. Dempsey, PhD, CPE; N. Katherine Yoon, PhD; CDR Elizabeth Garza, MPH, CPH; Scott Earnest, PhD, PE, CSP; Douglas Trout, MD, MHS4 Comments

임신한 네일 살롱 직원과 헤어미용사에서 태아의 선천성 결함 위험 조사

위험에 처한 근로자 현재 미국에는 약 400,000명의 활동 중인 네일미용사 면허소지자와 약 600,000명의 고용된 헤어미용사가 있습니다. 이들 근로자의 대부분은 가임 연령의 여성이며, 다수는 외국 태생이거나 유색인종입니다. 네일미용사는 종종 헤어케어 서비스도 제공되는 환경에서 일합니다. 네일 및 헤어 살롱 근로자들은 직업의 건강 위험에 대한 추가 연구를 지지해 왔습니다. 2015년 뉴욕 타임즈 기사는 위험한 작업장 조건에 대한 근로자의 특정 우려를 Read More >

Posted on by Kristen Van Buren, MPH; Miriam Siegel, DrPH, MPH; Carissa Rocheleau, PhD; and Kendra Broadwater, MPH, CIH

Nghiên cứu Nguy cơ Bị Dị tật Bẩm sinh ở Con của Thợ Làm Móng và Thợ Làm Tóc Đang Mang thai

Những Người lao động Có Nguy cơ Hiện có khoảng 400.000 giấy phép cấp cho kỹ thuật viên làm móng đang có hiệu lực và khoảng 600.000 thợ làm tóc đang làm việc tại Hoa Kỳ. Hầu hết những người lao động này là phụ nữ trong độ tuổi sinh đẻ, và nhiều người là Read More >

Posted on by Kristen Van Buren, MPH; Miriam Siegel, DrPH, MPH; Carissa Rocheleau, PhD; and Kendra Broadwater, MPH, CIH1 Comment

Researching Risk of Birth Defects Among Pregnant Nail Salon Workers and Hairdressers

Workers at Risk There are currently around 400,000 active nail technician licenses and roughly 600,000 employed hairdressers in the United States. Most of these workers are women of reproductive age, and many are foreign-born or people of color. Nail technicians often work in environments where haircare services are also provided. Nail and hair salon workers Read More >

Posted on by Kristen Van Buren, MPH; Miriam Siegel, DrPH, MPH; Carissa Rocheleau, PhD; and Kendra Broadwater, MPH, CIH3 Comments

Exoskeletons and Occupational Health Equity

  In the workplace, you need your equipment to fit perfectly. Historically, personal protective equipment (PPE) had been developed from measurements taken from male military recruits in the United States during the 1950s to the 1970s [1]. These data do not represent the range of body shapes and sizes in the majority of the modern Read More >

Posted on by Lakshmi D. Robertson, DrPH, MSPH; Laura Syron, PhD, MPH; Michael Flynn, MA; Ted Teske, MA; Hongwei Hsiao, PhD; Jack Lu, PhD, CPE; and Brian D. Lowe, PhD, CPE7 Comments

Asociación para educar sobre la seguridad y salud del trabajador a personas que están aprendiendo inglés en Alaska

Cuando piensa acerca de la diversidad en los Estados Unidos, ¿le viene a la mente Alaska? Lo cierto es que Anchorage, en Alaska, tiene algunos de los vecindarios y algunas de las escuelas públicas con mayor diversidad étnica y racial de todos los Estados Unidos. Esta diversidad incluye el hecho de que casi uno de Read More >

Posted on by Blog Coordinator

Partnering to Educate English-Language Learners in Alaska on Worker Safety and Health

When you think of diversity in the United States, does Alaska come to mind? In fact, Anchorage, Alaska has some of the most ethno-racially diverse neighborhoods and public schools in the entire U.S. This diversity includes nearly one in ten Anchorage residents identifying as foreign born (Farrell, 2018). In terms of languages spoken in the Read More >

Posted on by Laura Syron, PhD, MPH; Michael Flynn, MA; Theodore Teske, MA; Rebecca Guerin, PhD, CHES; Andrea Okun, DrPH; Devin Baker, MEd; Pauline Smith, MEd; and Erin LoPorto8 Comments

Towards a Biosocial Approach to Occupational Safety and Health

The integration of the social determinants of health paradigm by occupational and public health researchers and institutions is leading to a recognition of the need for a more holistic and nuanced perspective on work and its impact on population health (Ahonen et al 2018; Schulte and Vainio, 2010; WHO 2008). Fundamental to this transformation is Read More >

Posted on by Michael Flynn, MA3 Comments

Safety Across Cultures

As businesses become more global, safety professionals must develop and carry out work-based safety programs in cross-cultural settings. A recent article in Professional Safety, “Safety Across Cultures: Understanding the Challenges,” discusses the challenges of cross-cultural safety and health and offers suggestions on how to approach these growing responsibilities. Occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals work Read More >

Posted on by Michael Flynn, MA9 Comments

Convenience Store Compliance to Reduce Workplace Violence

  Robbery-related homicides and assaults are the leading cause of death in retail businesses. Workers in convenience stores have a 7 times higher rate of work-related homicide than workers in other industries (2 homicides per 100,000 workers vs. 0.28 per 100,000 workers). There are disparities among the homicide victims, too. Specifically, black, Asian, and Hispanic Read More >

Posted on by Cammie Chaumont Menéndez, PhD, MPH, MS, and Thomas Cunningham, PhD 9 Comments

Partnering to Promote Workplace Safety and Health in Tribal Communities

Over 5.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) live across the United States. In 2013, approximately 1,319,000 AI/AN workers were employed in the U.S. workforce1,2. AI/AN workers are 42 percent more likely to be employed in a high-risk occupation (defined as an occupation where the injury and illness rate is more than twice the Read More >

Posted on by Liz Dalsey2 Comments

Illustrating the Point: Choosing the right ARTIST for the message

As an artist, please provide one detailed and emotive illustration that captures this message: “You have come to this country looking for a better future. You also want to show that you are hardworking. You have overcome great obstacles to give your family a better life.”  It may be surprising that from these few words Read More >

Posted on by Nura Sadeghpour, Pietra Check, Amy Filko, and Mike Flynn10 Comments

Illustrating the Point: Choosing the right ART for the message

If you wanted to deliver a series of public health messages to people gathered at a busy Consulate (think Saturday at the DMV), or at another trusted community organization, how would you do it? We investigated the answer to that question specifically for a Spanish-speaking immigrant worker population, and specifically for conveying information designed to Read More >

Posted on by Amy Filko, Pietra Check, Mike Flynn, Nura Sadeghpour37 Comments

Protect Yourself at Work: A Series of Print and Video Materials for Spanish-speaking Immigrant Workers

Recently, NIOSH released a series of multi-media communication products for organizations that serve Spanish-speaking immigrant workers entitled Protéjase en el trabajo (Protect yourself at work). This series of products is a result of a multi-faceted project that includes 1) a partnership between NIOSH and the Mexican Consulates in the U.S. and 2) the development of Read More >

Posted on by Pietra Check, Amy Filko, Mike Flynn, Nura Sadeghpour9 Comments

Palm Tree Worker Suffocated by Palm Fronds – Another Death in California

  On August 13, 2015, another worker was suffocated by palm fronds in California (see news report). This is at least the fourth similar fatality since the California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program (CA/FACE) program issued a report and video on this hazard in February 2014. The drought in the Western U.S. may have Read More >

Posted on by Robert Harrison, MD29 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