Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene Commons^™

Occupational Exposures Associated With Thyroid Cancer In The Thyroid Tumor And Cancer Collaborative Registry In The Integrated Cancer Center Repository For Cancer Research, James Buckley

Capstone Experience

Thyroid cancer is one of the fastest growing cancers in the United States, with the rate of new cases increasing from 5.2 per 100,000 in 1985 to 13.8 per 100,000 in 2019, with a peak of 14.5 per 100,000 in 2015. Increased thyroid cancer incidence is associated with certain occupations, including healthcare and agriculture. Most existing literature on occupational exposures and thyroid cancer evaluate their association in terms of occupation type and thyroid cancer, rather than specific occupational exposures and thyroid cancer. This study sought to utilize the wide range of occupational exposure data in the Integrated Cancer Center Repository …

Occupational Stress Among Academicians Between Two Selected Universities In Malaysia And Indonesia During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Study, Nur Husna Rusli, Siti Marwanis Anua, Ajeng Tias Endarti, Wan Siti Hajar Wan Mohd Amin, Nurzafirah Mazlan, Tengku Azmina E Ibrahim

Kesmas

Occupational stress has become a major concern for both employees and employers globally. Stress leads to a loss of interest among workers as well as unproductive and valueless outputs if not managed well. The education sector is one work setting dominated by stress. This comparative cross-sectional study aimed to determine the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among academicians as well as their work-related stressors and coping strategies between a selected public university in Malaysia and a private university in Indonesia. A total of 82 academicians from universities in Malaysia and 52 from Indonesia were recruited using convenience sampling. Data …

Occupational Fine Particulate Matter Exposure And Its Associated Effects On The Cardiovascular System: A Systematic Review, Jordan Rickwa

Honors Theses

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5), the solid and liquid portion of air pollution under 2.5 microns in diameter, has been shown to cause numerous negative effects on the body. These inhalable particles are often researched for their effects on the respiratory system in outdoor settings, however systemic health impacts have been observed following inhalation of PM2.5 . Additionally, exposures to PM2.5 can occur in occupational settings but are less frequently studied compared to outdoors. This literature review seeks to identify studies that determined associations between inhaled PM2.5 and the resulting cardiovascular effects in occupational settings. We conducted a search of literature …

Developing A Taxonomy Of Ladder Climbing Techniques, Charles Holland

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The research found on ladder safety indicated broad recognition of the hazards of using ladders, especially in the construction industries. OSHA regulations, as well as general guidance on ladder safety point to training workers on ladder usage techniques as being one of the most useful means of reducing risk of falling. However, no studies could be found directly investigating different techniques for ascending and descending ladders. In order to study and compare techniques, this project was initiated to establish a taxonomy of techniques for climbing and descending ladders Six patterns were hypothesized. A secondary purpose was to compare the patterns …

Initiation Of A Roundtable Meeting To Determine Safety Hazards And Provide Education To Range Bison Herd Workers, Lucia Finocchiaro

Capstone Experience

This capstone project serves as an important piece of greater project studying bison handling. Bison production is both a growing and dangerous industry. As a new enterprise in many parts of the country and on tribal lands, significant numbers of untrained employees may be hired. This project undertakes methods to better understand the risks associated with bison handling and to thereby improve handling procedures and increase safety. Herd managers (from tribal and non-tribal sites), researchers, safety experts, and stakeholders were brought together for a roundtable meeting in Omaha. This meeting was designed to provide stakeholders a forum to discuss common …

The Ability Of The U.S. Military’S Wbgt-Based Flag System To Recommend Safe Heat Stress Exposures, David R. Almario

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. military currently uses a flag system based on wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and metabolic rate to recommend heat stress exposure limits. This paper addresses the ability of the flag system to recommend safe heat exposures in a non-military population.

Two progressive heat stress studies provided data on 528 observations of safe or unsafe exposures of 4 hours over a range of WBGT conditions and metabolic rates using 29 participants wearing woven cotton clothing. For the two studies, range of WBGT conditions was 25 to 42C, and the range of metabolic rates was 100 to 650 watts. These exposures …

Association Between Psychosocial And Organizational Factors And Objectively Measured Sedentary Behavior In Desk-Dependent Office Workers, Andrew Lafrenz, Taryn Lust, Minot Cleveland, Alar Mirka, Andrew Downs, Bryan Goodin, Jacquie Van Hoomissen

CUP Faculty Research

Cross-sectional analysis of data from the Recharge@Work study was used to assess individual, interpersonal and organizational correlates of objectively- measured sedentary time, in desk-dependent office workers at 2 U.S. hospitals. Analysis included 65 participants (62 females and ~49.2 years old). Sedentary time was assessed by accelerometry across five consecutive days and expressed as prolonged sedentary bouts (60 min ≤ 150 cpm). Correlates measured a baseline included: age, BMI, active break enjoyment, active break outcome expectancy, active break self-efficacy, active break social support, direct supervisor support of active breaks and senior manager support of active breaks. As expected, we found that …

Improving Workers' Safety And Health In The Zimbabwean Mining And Quarrying Industry, Bernard Mabika

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of effective occupational safety and health (OSH) strategies is a reason that

workplace accidents in the mining and quarrying industry remain high, making the

industry one of the riskiest operations worldwide. The purpose of this multiple case study

was to explore successful strategies mining and quarrying leaders in Zimbabwe used to

improve OSH. The key research question addressed successful strategies leaders in the

mining and quarrying industry use to improve employee occupational safety and health in

Zimbabwe. Six successful business leaders from 3 mining and quarrying mines in

Zimbabwe demonstrated an exception to unsafe practices, particularly through their

exceptional …

Predicting Hand Surface Area From A Two-Dimensional Hand Tracing, Myles O'Mara

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent occupational health studies have focused on dermal exposure at the hands, but have been unable to accurately express dose without knowing the HSA. There is no standard method to calculate HSA, though some researchers have derived HSA formulas based on dimensions from a Taiwanese population. This research paper describes a shortcut method to estimate the hand surface area (HSA) of a human hand from a two-dimensional hand tracing, and repeated a Taiwanese HSA study in order to explore the viability of its HSA formula in an American university population. A sample of nine adult men and nine adult women, …

Appraising The Current Status Of The National Institute For Occupational Safety And Health's Fatality Assessment Control Evaluation Program, Douglas Schwindt

Online Theses and Dissertations

Today, generally 13 U.S. workers die from workplace injuries. In 1970 on average, there were as many as 38 workplace fatalities on each day (DOL 2016). As a response to this alarming reality, the government enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970. This governmental legislation created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to regulate safety in the workplace; as well as, The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health who was charged with "developing new knowledge in the field of occupational safety and health and to transfer that knowledge into practice" (CDC NIOSH 2017).

In order to understand …

Emergency Medical Service Worker Knowledge Of And Compliance With Occupational Exposures To Infectious Diseases, Debra Ann Wrentz-Hudson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Firefighter Emergency Medical Service (EMS) responder personnel are at a high risk for occupational exposures to bloodborne and airborne infectious pathogens due to their unpredictable work duties in the pre-hospital environment. Not much is known about the compliance with Universal Precautions (UP) among firefighter EMS responders' personnel with regards to occupational exposures to infectious diseases. The purpose of this cross-sectional research study was to determine the relationship between compliance with UP, knowledge of UP, attitudes towards UP, occupational practices, and occupational exposures to bloodborne and airborne pathogens to prevent transmission of infectious disease among firefighter EMS responder personnel in the …

Characterization Of Waste Anesthetic Gas Exposures To Veterinary Workers In The Tampa Bay Area, Kyle Vogel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Veterinarians routinely conduct surgical operations on animals while veterinary technicians administer anesthetic gas to sedate the animal prior to an operation. One commonly used anesthetic agent in veterinary clinics is isoflurane. Veterinary workers have the potential to be exposed to this gas during surgical operations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not have a specific Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for isoflurane, however The National Institutes for Health (NIH) does advise that workers should not be exposed to isoflurane in concentrations exceeding 2 parts per million (ppm) for an 8 hour Time Weighted Average (TWA).

Animal clinics vary in …