Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene Commons^™

The Road To Regulation: A Literature Review Of The Influences On The Updated Silica Standards, Skye M. Medcraft

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Silica is a hazardous compound that poses a risk to human health resulting from dust creating activities across various industries. Several agencies, including OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration) and MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) have adopted regulatory oversight of silica exposure in the workplace. As more research has been conducted on silica exposure, the health effects are becoming better described, which has led to the creation and updating of exposure regulations to protect worker health. The objective of this literature study is to review the data presented to the Department of Labor and discuss how the factors that …

Evaluation Of The Zanesville-Muskingum County Ohio’S Mosquito And Tick Disease Vector Control Program, Samantha Wantz

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

This project aimed to evaluate the Zanesville – Muskingum County Health Department’s (ZMCHD) Vector Control Program based on performance measures, program indicators, and customer satisfaction. A secondary goal of the project is to evaluate and revise the existing policies and procedures of the program in regards specifically to the safety of the intern. Based on information from the Ohio Department of Health infectious disease dashboard, in the last 10 years (2014-2024) Muskingum County has reported 12 total cases of La Crosse virus, one case of West Nile Virus, and one case of Malaria (Ohio Department of Health, 2024a). ZMCHD has …

Enhancing Safety In Healthcare Construction: A Comprehensive Training Program On Managing Construction Dust, Melissa Nalath

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

In healthcare settings, construction activity poses significant risks due to the formation and release of construction dust containing allergens, pathogens, and toxic substances. This culminating project will develop a comprehensive training course for contractors to mitigate these risks while ensuring the safety of patients, employees, and construction workers. The training programs will raise awareness of the health risks associated with construction dust and educate contractors on proper dust handling techniques and ensure compliance with relevant regulations. Key elements such as containment, ventilation, and proper personal protective equipment (PPE) use will be emphasized. The program will also underscore the potential for …

The Power Of An Effective Safety Culture, Justin B. Negley

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Workplace injuries and illnesses have continued to decrease significantly through increased regulations, awareness, and technological advances. These enhancements are not enough to continue to drive these rates lower. A robust safety culture within an organization is required to truly affect change that will continue to diminish the occurrence of injuries and illnesses within the workplace. This project seeks to define the key aspects and elements that are fundamental to a culture of safety as a top priority amongst competing demands. The foundations of a robust safety culture were identified through a systematic literature review, a site comparison example of safety …

Body Mass Index And Acute And Chronic Work-Related Injuries; A Random Sample Analysis Of Occupational Health Clinic Records, Nicole M. Lundy

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Workplace injuries are detrimental because they impact the productivity and wellbeing of workers. The ultimate goal is to minimize job-related injuries due to workplace exposure. This study examines the relationship between body mass index (BMI), age, gender, and injury patterns. Data was collected through a chart review of patients from an occupational medicine health clinic in Grand Rapids, Michigan from January 2022 through December 2022.

This was an exploratory study with no population sample control group. Variables investigated were body mass index, gender, age, and type of injury sustained. The injuries were classified by body part into head, back, lower …

Assessing The Role Of Distance To Level I Trauma Units On Atv Rollovers, Tractor Rollovers, And Machinery Entanglement Outcomes, Andrew K. Schissel

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) rollovers, tractor rollovers, and machinery entanglements cause traumatic injuries to agricultural workers. Response time of first responders combined with travel to trauma units can take a significant amount of time in rural areas, potentially leading to an increased risk of fatal outcomes for those involved in these incidents. The aim of this study is to determine if distance to a level I trauma unit is a factor in the outcomes of these incidents. ATV rollovers, tractor rollovers, and machinery entanglement injuries and fatalities, collected from a 7-state Midwestern region were entered into a GIS system along with …

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: Master of Public Health

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 …

The Perception Of Technology On Continuous Health And Environmental Monitoring For Professional Drivers, Troy Suwondo

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Due to the sedentary nature of professional truck driving (among other high-risk behaviors and hazardous exposures) many suffer from acute and chronic health conditions. There are many potential hazards in the professional driving profession. Many of these hazards come from those that transport hazardous materials. Figuring out what health and environmental indicators are important to measure can be a way to minimize hazards. Continuous health monitoring technology may be an option to detect disease and alert professional drivers when vital signs indicate impending health crises. Before this can be implemented, it will be important to evaluate the perception of wearable …

Occupational Injuries Associated With Workplace Violence In An Academic Medical Center, Rebecca J. Bonacci

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Violence is a major source of workplace injury in the medical profession. Peer reviewed literature is lacking for workers that have injuries through violence from clients who have intellectual disabilities. Literature for hospital security is also lacking. In this study of workplace violence, we compared injuries among the occupational groups at an academic medical center from 2017-2020. We hypothesized that violence will be similar across the years. Occupational injury and illness data was obtained from an academic medical center. The number of violence cases was divided by the total number of injury cases and reported as a percentage. We found …

Developing And Piloting An E-Learning Module On Respiratory Protection, Emily Girard

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Respiratory diseases are one of the most common causes of occupational illnesses in the United States. Many occupations use personal protective equipment (PPE) in the form of respirators to protect against respiratory hazards when other control methods are not effective. However, some workers may not have had adequate training on their use. An e-learning module was developed to provide information about respirators and their use in agriculture. The interactions of matching, sorting, and review questions require the user to be an active participant with the goal of reinforcing the information. It was hypothesized the average summative assessment score would increase …

Development Of A Web-Based Agriculture Health Risk Assessment Tool For Military Veteran Farmers And Ranchers, Alyssa Damke

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

In the U.S., significant health disparities exist among rural populations compared to their urban counterparts. These disparities can be compounded in agricultural workers due to the dangerous and unpredictable nature of their work. Agricultural producers who are also military Veterans may experience additional health pressures that are often overlooked in the healthcare setting. Over 2.5 million Veteran Health Administration (VHA) patients reside in rural areas and the healthcare infrastructure to care for these Veterans may not include an agricultural occupational approach. To address healthcare disparities in Veteran farmers and ranchers, this study, in collaboration with AgriSafe Network, will be used …

The Lived Experience Of Psychological Occupational Stress In Early Childhood Education, Brooke Fletcher

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Early childhood education (ECE) programs have been recognized by the Institute of Medicine and the Administration for Children and Families as excellent interventions to alleviate the long-term negative effects of poverty in the United States, but the quality of intervention provided and outcomes for the target population are adversely hindered by high occupational stress burdens for ECE teachers. According to Sheridan, Edwards, Marvin, and Knoche, the models used to address this concern are not empirically supported for specific applicability to ECE nonprofit settings. There is a need for deeper understanding of the lived experiences of ECE teachers, including the psychological …

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

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

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 …

Hearing Conservation Program On A Campus: Worker Noise Exposure Assessment And Training, Tika Nepal

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Abstract

Introduction: Campus workers are exposed to loud noise from boilers, chillers, generators, snow blowers, leaf blowers, helicopters, utility vehicles, laboratory animals etc. No studies have looked at characterizing noise exposures among campus workers to see who needed to be enrolled in the Hearing Conservation Program (HCP).

Goal: The goal of this study was to determine which employees needed to be enrolled in a HCP.

Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted among campus workers. We identified utility plant workers, comparative medicine workers, landscaping crew, security officers and facility staff who used utility vehicles as employees potentially exposed to …

Occupational Health Challenges In Research, Anthony Blake

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Employees working in universities and hospitals are faced with common and unique health and safety challenges. Usually, the campus Department of Health and Safety is tasked with reducing employee exposure through risk assessments. Purpose: In this study, we present a unique risk assessment case study related to a research project undertaken by the campus Department of Health and Safety (DHES). This project also describes the activities done by DHES to improve campus safety. We hypothesized that carbon monoxide, particulate matter, formaldehyde, and VOCs emitted from burning wood chips in a closed laboratory space will exceed …