Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene Commons^™

Psychometric Properties Of The Persian Version Of Consideration Of Future Safety Consequence (Cfsc) Scale, Fazel Rajabi, Hamidreza Mokarami, Payam Farhadi, Sean Banaee, Mehdi Jahangiri

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: Personality traits, due to having a relative stability, are important factors for predicting employees’ safety behavior. Consideration of Future Safety Consequence (CFSC) is a personality trait that was recently introduced to predict the safety behaviors. The purpose of this study was to translate and assess the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the CFSC scale.

Methods: In the first stage of this cross-sectional study, the instrument was prepared by the forward-backward forward translation technique and evaluated by 487 employees of a gas refinery. The validity of the scale was evaluated through face, concurrent, validity, and construct validity. The …

Book Review: Urban Health | Emerging Public Health Perspectives, Demi Miriam

Journal of Research Initiatives

Book Review

Book Title: Urban Health | Emerging public health perspectives

Editors: Fernandes & Grewal, 2021

Publisher: Global South Strategies

Publication: 02 September 2021

City: Mangalore, India

Total No. of Pages: 341

Price (in INR): 950 (Paperback)

ISBN-13: 978-8195336418

The Right To Repair: (Re)Building A Better Future, Jumana Labib

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The goal of this research project was to take a multi-faceted, interdisciplinary approach to research and examine the Right to Repair movement’s progress, current repair practices, impediments, and imperatives, and the various large-scale implications (environmental, economic, social, etc.) stemming from diminished consumer freedom as a result of increased corporate greed and lack of governmental regulations with regards to repair and the environment. This poster exhibits the highlights of my general research project on the Right to Repair movement over the course of this four month internship, and aims to disseminate information about the movement to the wider public in an …

Neurosurgical Praxis Guidelines During The Covid-19 Outbreak. Consensus-Based On Currently Available Literature., José Antonio Soriano Sánchez, Bárbara Nettel Rueda, José Alberto Israel Romero Rangel, Armando Alpizar Aguirre, Miguel Ángel Andrade-Ramos, Ulises García Dr., Diego Mendez Rosito, Jorge A. Santos, Sara Patricia Pérez Reyes, Julian Eduardo Soto Abraham, Jose E. Valerio Pascua, Marco Antonio Barajas Romero, Eduardo Díaz Juárez, Alma Griselda Ramírez Reyes, Maria Elena Gonzalez, Claudia Katiutska González Valdez, Félix Domínguez Cortinas, Noé Santiago Ramírez, Tenoch Herrada Pineda, Manuel Eduardo Soto García, Edgar Nathal Vera, Gustavo Melo Guzmán

Archives of Neurosurgery

INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization recommended several strategies to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, including optimization of care for all patients, especially the seriously ill. Given the strain, the pandemic has posed on healthcare systems around the world, many neurosurgical associations have provided triage recommendations for patients to save resources for the pandemic. We aimed to provide practical recommendations based on specific illnesses requiring surgical procedures commonly performed by neurosurgeons on a life-threatening basis of patient illness. We consider this guideline will help neurosurgeons for the appropriate triage of patients on a daily-situation basis during this pandemic.

METHODS: The Mexican Society …

Implementación De Políticas De Prevención Y Control De La Obesidad Infantil En Estados Unidos Y Latinoamérica: Lecciones Para La Investigación Y La Práctica Transfronterizas, Mireya Vilar-Compte, Rafael Perez-Escamilla, Elizabeth Rhodes, Olga L. Sarmiento, Camila Corvalan, Rachel Sturke, Susan Vorkoper

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Aunque se han hecho avances en el desarrollo y aplicación a gran escala de inter-venciones eficaces contra la obesidad infantil, los retos siguen siendo importantes. Nuestro objetivo era comprender las causas del éxito de Estados Unidos y los países latinoamericanos en la implementación de políticas y programas (PYP) contra la obe-sidad e identificar oportunidades de mejora aplicando los principios de la ciencia de la implementación. Seleccionamos tres estudios de comparación de casos: (1) el etique-tado frontal en los envases de alimentos (México y Chile), (2) los programas de calles abiertas y calles para el juego (Colombia y Estados Unidos) y …

Impact Of Heavy Metals In Ambient Air In Insulin Resistance Of Shipyard Welders In Northern Taiwan, Ting-Yao Su, Hueiwang Anna Jeng, Yuan-Ting Hsu, Ching-Huang Lai, Chih-Hong Pan

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Exposure to metals poses potential health risks, including insulin resistance (IR), to those exposed to them in excess. Limited studies have examined such risks in occupational workers, including welders, and these have yielded inconsistent results. Thus, we examined the associations between exposure to welding metals and IR in welders. We recruited 78 welders and 75 administrative staff from a shipyard located in northern Taiwan. Personal exposure to heavy metals, including chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and cadmium (Cd), was monitored through particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM …

Evaluating The Incidence Of Melanoma And Lung Cancer Of Current And Former Active-Duty U.S. Military Who Were Deployed In Support Of Operation Enduring Freedom And Operation Iraqi Freedom, Brian Kovacic

Theses and Dissertations--Epidemiology and Biostatistics

The incidence of melanoma and lung cancer has been gradually increasing in the United States over the past three decades with the reputed causes due to etiological and environmental exposures, and tobacco usage. There has been concern that melanoma and lung cancer incidence among military personnel may be associated with deployment to environments with intense sun exposure and increased smoking rates due to post-traumatic stress disorder. The aim of this study was to examine associations between deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), from 2001 through 2015, with subsequent melanoma and lung cancer incidence. …

Costos De La Licencia De Maternidad Para Apoyar La Lactancia Materna En Brasil, Ghana Y México, Mireya Vilar-Compte, Graciela M. Teruel, Diana Flores-Peregrina, Grace J. Carroll, Gabriela S. Buccini, Rafael Perez-Escamilla

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective To develop a method to assess the cost of extending the duration of maternity leave for formally-employed women at the national level and apply it in Brazil, Ghana and Mexico. Methods We adapted a World Bank costing method into a five-step method to estimate the costs of extending the length of maternity leave mandates. Our method used the unit cost of maternity leave based on working women’s weekly wages; the number of additional weeks of maternity leave to be analysed for a given year; and the weighted population of women of reproductive and legal working age in a given …

Laws Restricting Access To Abortion Services And Infant Mortality Risk In The United States, Roman Pabayo, Amy Ehntholt, Daniel M. Cook, Megan Reynolds, Peter Muennig, Sze Yan Liu

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objectives: Since the US Supreme Court′s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, states have enacted laws restricting access to abortion services. Previous studies suggest that restricting access to abortion is a risk factor for adverse maternal and infant health. The objective of this investigation is to study the relationship between the type and the number of state-level restrictive abortion laws and infant mortality risk. Methods: We used data on 11,972,629 infants and mothers from the US Cohort Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Files 2008–2010. State-level abortion laws included Medicaid funding restrictions, mandatory parental involvement, mandatory counseling, mandatory waiting period, and …

Costing Of Actions To Safeguard Vulnerable Mexican Households With Young Children From The Consequences Of Covid-19 Social Distancing Measures, Mireya Vilar-Compte, Víctor Pérez, Graciela Teruel, Aranzazu Alonso, Rafael Pérez-Escamilla

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

COVID-19 has imposed unprecedented challenges to society. As the pandemic evolves, the social distancing measures that have been globally enforced, while essential, are having undesirable socioeconomic side effects particularly among vulnerable populations. In Mexico, families who depend upon informal employment face increased threats to their wellbeing, and households who in addition have young children may face long-term consequences. The Mexican government has not yet taken actions, but a coalition of non-governmental organizations is advocating in partnership with academic institutions for social protection actions such as a cash transfer and basic services subsidies for families with young children, subsisting from the …

Development Of A Diabetes Self-Management + Mhealth Program: Tailoring The Intervention For A Pilot Study In A Low-Income Setting In Mexico, Robin Whittemore, Mireya Vilar-Compte, Soraya Burrola-Méndez, Annel Lozano-Marrufo, Roberta Delvy, Mariana Pardo-Carrillo, Selene De La Cerda, Ninfa Pena-Purcell, Rafael Pérez-Escamilla

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a public health pandemic disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of this formative research was to adapt evidence-based diabetes self-management education programs to the context of Seguro Popular clinics in Mexico. A theory-based mHealth (pictorial text messaging) component was developed.

Method: Our formative research and development of the program protocol consisted of six phases: (1) interviews and focus groups with stakeholders on the challenges to T2D management, curriculum content needs, and the use of mHealth as a supplement to a DSME program; (2) review of the theoretical underpinning, curriculum, and interactive strategies …

An Iterative Process For Training Design And Implementation Increased Health Workers' Knowledge For Taking Nutrition Behavior Change To Scale, Wendy Gonzalez, Anabelle Bonvecchio Arenas, Armando García-Guerra, Mireya Vilar-Compte, Alejandría Villa De La Vega, Laura Quezada, Cynthia Rosas, Ana Lilia Lozada-Tequeanes, Amira Hernández

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

The shortage of skilled, motivated, and well-supported health workers is a major barrier to scaling up nutrition interventions and services. Objective: The objective of this study is to describe the process for developing and implementing a training of health personnel for the delivery of the Integrated Strategy for Attention to Nutrition (EsIAN), an evidence-based strategy for promoting infant and young child feeding through primary health care in Mexico. The specific objective is to provide a case study and highlight challenges, as well as elements to successfully mitigate these, and discuss potential applications of findings beyond the Mexican context. Methods: The …

(Video) Dirty Cotton: Occupational Pesticide Exposure And Elevated Suicide Risk Among Male Cotton Farmers In India, Bethany Natalia Kondavaty

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

Purpose: The aim of this critical analysis was to examine the association (or lack thereof) of occupational pesticide exposure and elevated suicide risk among male cotton farmers in India.

Methods: A literature review was performed using Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. The review included documents published before and after year 2002. Children were excluded from the search as well as women, with exception to research on gender differences in suicide.

Results: Studies outside India show a positive correlation between work-related pesticide exposure and suicide. Animal studies have shown that pesticides, as organophosphates, are toxic, …

Implementation Science To Accelerate Clean Cooking For Public Health., Joshua Rosenthal, Kalpana Balakrishnan, Nigel Bruce, David Chambers, Jay Graham, Darby Jack, Lydia Kline, Omar Masera, Sumi Mehta, Ilse Ruiz Mercado, Gila Neta, Subhrendu Pattanayak, Elisa Puzzolo, Helen Petach, Antonello Punturieri, Adolfo Rubinstein, Michael Sage, Rachel Sturke, Anita Shankar, Kenny Sherr, Kirk Smith, Gautam Yadama

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Clean cooking has emerged as a major concern for global health and development because of the enormous burden of disease caused by traditional cookstoves and fires. The World Health Organization has developed new indoor air quality guidelines that few homes will be able to achieve without replacing traditional methods with modern clean cooking technologies, including fuels and stoves. However, decades of experience with improved stove programs indicate that the challenge of modernizing cooking in impoverished communities includes a complex, multi-sectoral set of problems that require implementation research. The National Institutes of Health, in partnership with several government agencies and the …

Exploring Determinants Of Handwashing With Soap In Indonesia: A Quantitative Analysis, Mitsuaki Hirai, Jay P. Graham, Kay Mattson, Andrea Kelsey, Supriya Mukherji, Aidan Cronin

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Handwashing with soap is recognized as a cost-effective intervention to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with enteric and respiratory infections. This study analyzes rural Indonesian households’ hygiene behaviors and attitudes to examine how motivations for handwashing, locations of handwashing space in the household, and handwashing moments are associated with handwashing with soap as potential determinants of the behavior. The analysis was conducted using results from a UNICEF cross-sectional study of 1700 households in six districts across three provinces of Indonesia. A composite measure of handwashing with soap was developed that included self-reported handwashing, a handwashing demonstration, and observed handwashing materials …

Occupational Health Risk Factors For Schistosomiasis: Systematic Review And Analysis, Sarah Grace Sawyer, Amira Roess, Gisela Butera

GW Research Days 2015

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by a parasitic flatworm which afflicts over 200 million people in the poorest regions of Africa. Carried by snails living in fresh, stagnant water, the parasite penetrates human skin upon contact, causing the victim to suffer a range of symptoms including diarrhea, blood in the urine, and eventual death. Despite its prevalence, schistosomiasis is preventable, treatable, and curable once a control program is implemented. Substantial reduction of schistosomiasis would relieve suffering and produce many socio-economic benefits, including higher productivity and higher school attendance rates. Disease transmission is directly tied to the environment, and …

International Occupational Health Research On An "Invisible" Workforce, Martin D. Slade, Rafael Lefkowitz

Yale Day of Data

There are many professions in which employees are located in remote locations. International maritime workers make up one such occupation. They are a vulnerable, underserved and neglected population of approximately 1.2 million people with high rates of disease and injury. During their typical nine month deployments, they live in relative isolation with no health care professional on board. To understand the root causes of disease and injury among this remote workforce, strategies to collect information, analyze data, and report results and recommendations have been developed. These strategies, which include gathering of data through an alliance of companies involved in seafaring, …

User Perceptions Of Shared Sanitation Among Rural Households In Indonesia And Bangladesh, Kali B. Nelson, Jonathan Karver, Craig Kullman, Jay P. Graham

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Background

The practice of sharing sanitation facilities does not meet the current World Health Organization/UNICEF definition for what is considered improved sanitation. Recommendations have been made to categorize shared sanitation as improved sanitation if security, user access, and other conditions can be assured, yet limited data exist on user preferences with respect to shared facilities.

Objective

This study analyzed user perceptions of shared sanitation facilities in rural households in East Java, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.

Methods

Cross-sectional studies of 2,087 households in East Java and 3,000 households in Bangladesh were conducted using questionnaires and observational methods. Relative risks were calculated to …

Lessons From The Trenches: Meeting Evaluation Challenges In School Health Education, Michael Young, George Denny, Joseph Donnelly

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

BACKGROUND: Those involved in school health education programs generally believe that health education programs can play an important role in helping young people make positive health decisions. Thus, it is to document the effects of such programs through rigorous evaluations published in peer‐reviewed journals.

METHODS: This paper helps the reader understand the context of school health program evaluation, examines several problems and challenges, shows how problems can often be fixed, or prevented, and demonstrates ways in which challenges can be met. A number of topics are addressed, including distinguishing between curricula evaluation and evaluation of outcomes, types of evaluation, identifying …

The Significance Of Race For Neighborhood Social Cohesion: Perceived Difficulty Of Collective Action In Majority Black Neighborhoods, Tamara Leech, Tara Hobson-Prater

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

This article explores William Julius Wilson's contentions about community cultural traits by examining racial differences in middle class neighborhoods' levels of social cohesion. Specifically, we explore the perceived difficulty of these actions-as opposed to general pessimism about their outcomes-as a potential explanation for low levels of instrumental collective action in Black middle class neighborhoods. Our results indicate that, regardless of other neighborhood factors, majority Black neighborhoods have low levels of social cohesion. We also find that this racial disparity is statistically explained by shared perceptions about the amount of effort required to engage in group action in different neighborhoods. These …

College Student Perceptions On Campus Alcohol Policies And Consumption Patterns, Brenda L. Marshall, Katherine J. Roberts, Joseph Donnelly, Imani N. Rutledge

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Environmental strategies for colleges and universities to reduce alcohol consumption among their students include the development and enforcement of campus alcohol policies. This study examines students' knowledge and attitudes toward campus alcohol policies and how they relate to alcohol consumption and alcohol social norms. A sample of 422 freshman students was surveyed during their first month at a 4-year public college. Findings indicated that the majority of students (89%) were aware of campus policies, yet of those who were aware, less than half (44%) were accepting of these campus rules and regulations. In addition, the majority (79%) of students drank …

Anatomia Da Privatização Neoliberal Do Sistema Único De Saúde: O Papel Das Organizações Sociais De Saúde, Fabiano Tonaco Borges, Suzely Abas Saliba Moimaz, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, Cléa Abas Saliba Garbin

C. Eduardo Siqueira

O objetivo da elaboração desta obra foi dissecar as partes

que compõem o processo de privatização do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Para isto, utilizou-se, metaforicamente, o termo anatomia para descrever as estruturas do corpo chamado privatização do SUS. Importante ressaltar que o termo público se

sobressai em todo o texto numa referência ao povo, termo mais apropriado do que estatal na contraposição à coisa particular, de domínio privado.

Partiu-se do princípio que a dependência externa dos países em desenvolvimento propicia condições para a exportação do modelo privado de saúde a partir dos países desenvolvidos, em particular, os Estados Unidos. …

Vocational Health Schools (Etsus) In Brazil: Regulation Of The Integration Of Teaching-Service-Administrative Sustainability Of Etsus, Fabiano Tonaco Borges, Cléa Ada Saliba Garbin, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, Artênio Jósé Crispin Garbin, Najara Barbosa Da Rocha, Luíz Fernando Lolli, Suzely Adas Saliba Moimaz

C. Eduardo Siqueira

The scope of this study was to discuss the administrative sustainability of Brazil’s Vo- cational Health Schools (ETSUS) based on the principle of teaching and service integration, which brings a new dimension to healthcare work as yet unregulated by Brazilian public adminis- tration. It was a qualitative study using case study methodology. The research involved a semi-struc- tured questionnaire given to ETSUS managers addressing institutional, administrative, and work management aspects. The sample was composed of 6 ETSUS that belong to the Network of Vocational Health Schools (RET-SUS). The ETSUS showed centralized planning and management, and decentralized implementation of their core …

Community-University Research Partnerships For Workers' And Environmental Health In Campinas Brazil, Maria Inês Monteiro, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, Heleno Rodrigues Correa-Filho

C. Eduardo Siqueira

Three partnerships between the University of Campinas, community, and pubLic health care services are discussed in this article. A theoretical framework underpins the critical reviews of their accomplishments following criteria proposed by scholars of community-university partnerships and community-based participatory research. The article concludes that despite the significant achievements, there still remain important barriers for their development due to performance criteria that do not value research that partner with communities, health care services, or labor unions.

Principal Component Analysis Of Dietary And Lifestyle Patterns In Relation To Risk Of Subtypes Of Esophageal And Gastric Cancer, Stephanie A. Navarro Silvera, Susan T. Mayne, Harvey A. Risch, Marilie D. Gammon, Thomas Vaughan, Wong-Ho Chow, Joel A. Dubin, Robert Dubrow, Janet Schoenberg, Janet L. Stanford, A. Brian West, Heidrun Rotterdam, William J. Blot

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose

To carry out pattern analyses of dietary and lifestyle factors in relation to risk of esophageal and gastric cancers.

Methods

We evaluated risk factors for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA), esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA), and other gastric cancers (OGA) using data from a population-based case-control study conducted in Connecticut, New Jersey, and western Washington state. Dietary/lifestyle patterns were created using principal component analysis (PCA). The impact of the resultant scores on cancer risk was estimated through logistic regression.

Results

PCA identified six patterns: meat/nitrite, fruit/vegetable, smoking/alcohol, legume/meat alternate, GERD/BMI, and fish/vitamin C. Risk of each …

Developing A School Functioning Index For Middle Schools, Amanda Birnbaum, Leslie A. Lytle, Cheryl L. Perry, David Murray, Mary Story

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Despite widespread recognition of schools' role in the healthy development of youth, surprisingly little research has examined the relationships between schools' overall functioning and the health‐related behavior of students. School functioning could become an important predictor of students' health‐related behavior and may be amenable to intervention. This paper describes the development and testing of the School Functioning Index (SFI) as a first step in investigating this question. The index was developed for use with middle schools and conceived as a predictor of students' violent behavior, with the potential for extending research applications to additional health and social behaviors. Using social …

Residential Modifications And Decline In Physical Function Among Community-Dwelling Older Ad, Sze Yan Liu, Kate L. Lapane

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to quantify the effect of residential modification on decreasing the risk of physical function decline in 2 years.

Design: Cohort study using propensity scores method to control for baseline differences between individuals with residential modifications and those without residential modifications.

Participants: Participants (N = 9,447) were from the Second Longitudinal Study on Aging, a nationally representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population, aged 70 years and older in the United States at the time of baseline interview in 1994-1995.

Methods: Participants self-reported residential modifications at baseline (e.g., railings, bathroom modifications). The decline in …

The Vida Verde Women's Coop:Brazilian Immigrants Organizing To Promote Environmental And Social Justice, David Gute, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, Julia S. Goldberg, Heloisa Galvão, Monica Chianelli, Alex Pirie

C. Eduardo Siqueira

We reviewed the key steps in the launch of the Vida Verde Women’s Co-Op among Brazilian immigrant housecleaners in Somerville, MA. The co-op provides green housecleaning prod- ucts, encourages healthy work practices, and promotes a sense of community among its members. We conducted in-depth inter- views with 8 of the first co-op members, who reported a reduc- tion in symptoms associated with the use of traditional clean- ing agents and a new sense of mutual support. Critical to the co-op’s success have been the supportive roles of its academic partners (Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts, Lowell), effective media …

Glycaemic Index, Glycaemic Load And Ovarian Cancer Risk: A Prospective Cohort Study, Stephanie A. Navarro Silvera, Meera Jain, Geoffrey R. Howe, Anthony B. Miller, Thomas E. Rohan

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

There is some evidence that plasma insulin levels might influence ovarian cancer risk. The glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) are measures that allow the carbohydrate content of individual foods to be classified according to their postprandial glycaemic effects and hence their effects on circulating insulin levels. Therefore, we examined ovarian cancer risk in association with GI and GL, and intake of dietary carbohydrate and sugar.

Methods

The study was conducted in a prospective cohort of 49 613 Canadian women enrolled in the National Breast Screening Study (NBSS) who completed a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) between 1980 and …

Perceived Smoking Environment And Smoking Initiation Among Multi-Ethnic Urban Girls, Tracy R. Nichols, Amanda Birnbaum, Sara Birnel, Gilbert J. Botvin

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose

To examine associations between the perceived smoking environment and smoking initiation among urban multi-ethnic adolescent girls in New York City.

Methods

Self-report surveys completed in grades 7, 8, and 9 assessed girls’ (n = 858) smoking initiation, and perceived smoking environment (family smoking, friends’ smoking, smoking norms, and cigarette availability). Carbon monoxide breath samples were collected from girls using a variation of the bogus pipeline procedure.

Results

Differences were found in smoking prevalence with white girls reporting the highest prevalence of smoking at baseline and the greatest increase in smoking prevalence from seventh to eighth grade. Black girls reported …